India’s dope shame

Doping continues to cast a long shadow on sports in India. The country has earned the dubious distinction of being second among nations with the most number of athletes currently ineligible to participate in international events. Adille Sumariwalla, outgoing president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), believes there is a silver lining to this dark cloud — more cheats are getting caught because greater testing is being done. However, the risk of being named, shamed and penalised is not outweighing the temptation to enhance one’s performance fraudulently. The level of deterrence remains low, even as unscrupulous elements keep trying out new ways to game the system.

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It’s not enough for the national federation to have zero tolerance for doping. Strictness and transparency must percolate down to the district level, where the menace widely persists. If Sumariwalla is to be believed, district coaches are themselves supplying banned substances to up-and-coming players for short-term gains. It is commendable that the Haryana Sports Department, roused to action by

The Tribune’s damning report on drug use during a boxing championship in Hisar, has warned that federations or associations would be suspended if doping occurs at any event organised by them. The message is loud and clear: sports bodies must face the music if they fail to weed out the black sheep.

Unfortunately, once sportspersons get used to taking drugs and getting away with it, they rarely try to mend their ways. Hard work and self-belief — two of the most potent tools to excel in sports — are sacrificed at the altar of unfair means. The state of affairs can improve if the evil is nipped in the bud; the earlier the clean-up happens, the better. A country aspiring to host the Olympics can’t afford to suffer the fate of Russia, which has become a global outcast in the sporting arena mainly due to rampant doping.