Operation Carousel: Is the AFI taking any new step to deter drug cheats?

AFI has strict no-needle policy, only national campers in relay teams, surprise out-of-competition tests, updated campers list, performance charts, athletes deny taking illegal substances; AFI limited resources.

Now that the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ‘Operation Carousel’ has exposed the many flaws in the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) dope-testing and whereabouts monitoring system and has suggested corrective measures, what are national federations doing to clean up the sport of dope cheats.

One asked the Athletics Federation of India, perhaps the most efficient national sport body which was awarded the best member federation by the Asian Athletics Association in Bangkok recently, to see if it is planning anything new.

The AFI has a strict no-needle policy at its national camps. And since it believes that it is easier to take illegal substances outside national camps, it has a rule that only national campers will be included in Indian relay teams for major championships. That, however, has not stopped national campers from failing dope tests.

Quartermiler Anjali Devi, a national camper who was lying low without competing in her main event for three and half years, suddenly showed up at the recent Bhubaneswar Inter-State Nationals and clocked the fastest time by an Indian woman this year (51.48s). It soon became clear that it was not a ‘clean’ performance.

“Her sample was taken on June 16 (the day of her stunning Bhubaneswar run) and we were informed (about the result) in July,” said Adille Sumariwalla, the AFI president, in a chat with The Hindu from Paris.

Two other national campers, Inter-State Nationals silver medallist shot putter Karanveer Singh and female sprinter Archana Suseendran also tested positive recently in this Asian Games and World Championships year and are now under provisional suspension.

So clearly, the AFI needs to do more to make life difficult for cheats.