Now, two para athletes axed from Commonwealth Games team

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, July 23

In another setback to India’s 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) mission, two para athletes who were part of the contingent have tested positive for banned substances.

Aneesh Kumar, who was to compete in the men’s shot put IF1 category, and para powerlifter Geeta have both failed dope tests in an out-of-competition testing conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency.

They were served notices of adverse analytical finding (AAF) two days back and consequently have been dropped from the CWG squad.

Aneesh’s sample was collected from Pune, while Geeta was tested at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in June.

This is the second major doping scandal in a week. Earlier, sprinter S Dhanalakshmi and triple-jumper Aishwarya Babu, who were part of the 36-member Indian athletics contingent, were dropped after their samples revealed banned substances.

Interestingly, the news came even as the first batch of para athletes — para table tennis and swimming teams — left for Birmingham.

“Their names were not part of the list that was sanctioned to travel for the Games,” a source said.

As per sources, Aneesh’s sample showed presence of a masking agent after he took a medicine for blood pressure. He was served a notice as he did not seek a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate for the medicine consumed.

Geeta’s samples showed presence of an anabolic steroid, which is banned as a specified substance in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list. Geeta has been training under national para powerlifting coach JP Singh, who is also the chairman of Powerlifting Paralympic Committee of India.