Adille Sumariwalla’s Fix For India’s Deep Doping Crisis: ‘Criminalise It, Jail The Guilty’

Every time India unearth a new sporting gem, someone who runs faster, lifts heavier, lands cleaner, or wrestles with the grip and slam of a champion, the headlines swell with promise. But often, just as quickly, there’s a pause. A ban. A suspension. Reetika Hooda’s doping ban was a sharp reminder of how quickly it can all fall apart.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has tightened its grip too, athletes, coaches, support staff, no one is off the radar.

And, World Athletics vice president Adille Sumariwalla has a solution to India’s deep-rooted doping problem. He isn’t calling for soft fixes, he wants the system to hit back hard.

Adille Sumariwalla On Fixing India’s Deepening Doping Problem

After the conclusion of the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium on July 5, World Athletics vice president Sumariwalla told Outlook exactly how he believes doping should be tackled in India, and his stance was anything but soft.

"Criminalization of doping,” he said in a stern voice. "Catch the coaches, whoever is involved, and send them to jail. Give the system the power to raid, build policies to catch them and put them behind bars. That’s the only way out. If five people go to jail, others will understand how serious this is."

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), too, has started tightening the screws. In a notable move, the AFI has announced that it will not recommend any athlete training under unregistered coaches for national honours like the Arjuna or Khel Ratna awards.

The message is clear, if you're working with people outside the system, you're not getting celebrated by it. The federation hopes this step will act as a deterrent and help curb the rising tide of doping cases in Indian athletics.

But why this sudden focus on coaches? Because in case after case, it’s becoming harder to ignore their role. The system can no longer afford to treat them as passive bystanders.

The AFI’s recent decision to not recommend athletes training under unregistered coaches for national honors marks a shift in where accountability is being placed. Clean sport doesn’t begin and end with the athlete, it begins with the people guiding them.

That’s why, in its updated list of suspended athletes and officials, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) named junior national athletics coach Ramesh Nagapuri, along with Rakesh (athletics) and Karamveer Singh (judo/athletics). The reason cited for their suspension was administration of prohibited substances and complicity.

As of April 8, 2025, the list of provisionally suspended athletes published by NADA includes around 119 names, six of them minors. If whereabouts failures are added, the list would grow even longer, a reflection of just how deep the problem runs.

India also topped WADA’s 2023 testing figures among countries that analysed over 5,000 samples, a clear sign of how widespread the problem is. The sports ministry has since promised an "aggressive clean-up" and amendments to the Anti-Doping Act after addressing WADA’s concerns.

Hooda’s suspension is a case in point. A rising face in women’s heavyweight wrestling, she tested positive during selection trials just days before the Ranking Series in Budapest. The former U-23 world champion and Paris Olympic quota-winner was pulled from the national camp, along with two other wrestlers from her Rohtak academy who also failed dope tests.

When three from the same setup are caught, it’s no longer just about individual choices. As Sumariwalla said, the system needs to be tightened, and everyone involved must be held accountable.

This isn’t just about doping in athletics or wrestling anymore, it’s about a culture that continues to enable it.

Sumariwalla also touched on what’s next for Indian athletics: "There’s a lot coming up, 32 national tournaments, competitions in Europe, the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games. The calendar is packed."

India’s athletes are preparing for a packed calendar. But before the medals, there’s a doping crisis that needs fixing.