All about the doping tsunami that ripped the heart and soul out of athletics

A year of unrelenting misery, of corruption, cover-ups, bans, appeals and doping, doping, doping, has ripped the heart and soul out of athletics, the sport that likes to think of itself as the heart and soul of the Olympics.

A year of unrelenting misery, of corruption, cover-ups, bans, appeals and doping, doping, doping, has ripped the heart and soul out of athletics, the sport that likes to think of itself as the heart and soul of the Olympics.

Wrestler Narsingh Yadav leaves after a hearing at the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP)

There is not a doping cloud hovering above the track and field programme at the Rio Games, there is a dense, filthy smog that has enveloped every corner and left the sport teetering on the edge of the abyss.

If previous championships are anything to go by, retrospective doping disqualifications from the throwing events will start almost immediately while further doping offences could be drip fed to an already totally disillusioned public up to and beyond 2024.

Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav joined the hall of shame after testing positive for Metandienone - an anabolic steroid. Androgenic anabolic steroids are defined as natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic drugs derived from testosterone, used with the aim of improving physical performance by increasing both muscle strength and mass.

(Graphics : Hindustan Times)