National Anti-Doping Agency handed athletics coach Rakesh Kumar a life ban for administering prohibited substances to athletes
Power-lifter Gaurav Vats received a provisional suspension after authorities caught him possessing illicit performance-enhancing drugs
A joint raid at Vats' nutritional supplement firm in Najafgarh yielded 2,800 prohibited tablets and capsules alongside 11 injectable units
Athletics coach Rakesh Kumar received a lifetime ban on Wednesday. The National Anti-Doping Agency penalized Kumar for supplying prohibited substances, while also placing power-lifter Gaurav Vats under provisional suspension for possessing and trafficking illegal performance enhancers.
Rakesh was suspended in March last year, and the ban will take effect from that date. National Inter-State bronze-winning sprinter Prakruthi Roopa Rao was also provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned steroids Stanozolol and Drostanolone. Khelo India Games gold medal-winning weightlifter Chelsi received a five-year ban after failing a dope test.
Athletics Suspensions List
Doping sanctions hit several other competitors. An underage weightlifter joined the provisional suspension list following a positive test for Oxandrolone. Track athletes Kaushal Kumar, a quartermiler, steeplechaser Jujhar Singh and distance runner Baljeet Kaur also face suspensions.
In all, seven names from athletics feature in the provisional suspension list.
Vats Drug Crackdown
A raid targeted Vats' nutritional supplement firm. Acting on an April alert from NADA's Intelligence & Investigations unit, enforcement teams joined local police to search his facility in Najafgarh.
Central Food Safety Officers headed the multi-agency operation alongside officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The team confiscated nearly 2,800 banned capsules and tablets, in addition to 11 injectable units.
Banned Substances Recovered
The haul included anabolic steroids Methenolone Enanthate, Trenbolone and Stanozolol. It also included 300 Methandienone tablets, 850 Oxandrolone tablets and 1,500 selective androgen receptor modulator capsules. Injections of Adenosine Monophosphate were among the recoveries.
The recovered substances are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and can be abused to build muscle mass and gain an unfair performance advantage. Adenosine Monophosphate is a prohibited hormone and metabolic modulator that helps endurance.
