NADA, India’s anti-doping body, to test 4,000 athletes in 2017

The National Anti-doping Agency (NADA) has said all national sports federations should share their annual competition calendar in advance for effective dope control measures.

The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) proposes to test more than 4,000 top athletes in the 2017 season. Disciplines like athletics, weightlifting, boxing, cycling and football are on its radar.

India’s National Anti-Doping Agency has said it will extensively test top athletes for anti-doping rule violations, but mainly focus on educating juniors about the ill-effects of taking banned substances. (Getty Images)

A NADA press release said on Monday that it plans to have educative programmes for juniors rather than test them. “There is a proposal to test senior athletes for performance-enhancing drugs but in juniors and youth categories more awareness camps will be organised to apprise them of the harmful side effects of doping,” it said.

NADA says India ranked third in the global list of dope cheats in 2014 due to 95 anti-doping rule violations. The figure rose to 120 in 2015, but came down to 73 in 2016.

NADA also made public its decision to conduct tests in all senior national meets where doping is prevalent. “Emphasis will be on outstanding performances while individual athletes will not be tested frequently over a short period of time.”