Shuttler Krishna gets 4-year doping ban

In a surprising turn of events, two upcoming badminton players have been caught in the doping net. Men’s doubles player Krishna Prasad Garaga and women’s doubles athlete Swetaparna Panda are in the dock after their samples showed presence of banned substances.

Garaga has been suspended for four years after his samples showed the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and luteinizing hormone (LH), both prohibited for male athletes as they stimulate testosterone production.

The 24-year-old has been partnering Sai Prateek and the pair has shown signs of progression as a second line for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

Garaga gave his sample in an out of competition test in Hyderabad in February. His suspension as per the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) will run for four years starting from July 31, 2024. He has now filed an appeal against his suspension in NADA’s anti-doping appeal panel (ADDP).

Swetaparna, who partnered her sister Rutuparna Panda at the just concluded India Open, was tested during the Odisha Masters and her samples showed presence of terbutaline, a beta2-agonist which helps in muscle strength, power and endurance.

It is understood Swetaparna, who is supported by the Odisha government, is preparing her response to the NADA’s notice of charge.

While Swetaparna was unavailable for comments, Garaga opened up about his rare anti-doping case. This is the second such case, with weightlifter Sharandeep Singh getting banned for two years for hCG & LH in 2013.

“We were doing well as a doubles pair. We had beaten Satwik and Chirag and all of a sudden I get a letter from the NADA about my samples. No one in badminton has any idea about this so I continued playing,” Garaga, who trains at the famed Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, told The Tribune on Wednesday.

“It is such a rare case. I don’t know many cases like mine in India. It is even rare in badminton so I kept playing and all of a sudden I get told that I have been suspended. It was confusing. I have appealed this suspension and am waiting to hear from the appeal

panel,” said Garaga.

Sindhu to lead team in Asia Mixed Championship

New Delhi: Double Olympics medallist PV Sindhu and World Championships bronze winner Lakshya Sen will lead a 14-member Indian team for the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship to be held in Qingdao, China, on February 11-16. India had clinched a bronze medal in the last edition of the competition in Dubai in 2023.

Squad: Men: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila, MR Arjun, Sathish Kumar; Women: PV Sindhu, Malvika Bansod, Gayatri Gopichand, Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto, Adya Variyath

Crasto-Kapila advance in Indonesia Masters

Jakarta: Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila started their mixed doubles campaign at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on a bright note, progressing to the second round with a 21-18 21-14 win against the Indonesian combination of Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil. PTI