NADA provisionally suspends Nur Hasan, Murli Gavit and Hemraj Gurjar for doping offences
India's steeplechaser Mohammed Nur Hasan, who bagged the National Games silver medal in 2023, has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for doping offenses. Furthermore, he clocked his personal best of 8:30.56 in the 26th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships 2023 in Ranchi to secure a gold medal.
Alongside Nur Hasan, the duo that competed in cross-country Worlds in Belgrade last month- Railways' Hemraj Gurjar, the national cross-country men’s champion, and women’s silver medallist Anjali Kumari from Bihar, are also part of NADA’s updated list of athletes who are under provisional suspension.
India’s promising long-distance runner Murli Gavit is also one of the high-profile names on the list. He was a double champion over the 5,000m and 10,000m in 2019. He emerged victorious in the 5000m event at the 62nd National Open, clocking 14:08.49 seconds. Moreover, he won the 10,000m bronze medal at the Asian Athletics Championships 2019 in Doha.
Two athletes face suspensions by NADA
Moving forward, the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) has given a two-year suspension to Tamil Nadu’s G. Lakshmanan dated back to August 10, 2023. Notably, he was the gold medallist in the 2017 Bhubaneswar Asian Championships 5000m and 10,000m.
Furthermore, Uttar Pradesh’s female sprinter Himani Chandel has been handed a four-year ban dated back to June 15, 2023
According to a recent report released by the WADA, India surged past Russia as the top dope offender. In 2022, India tested a total of 3,865 samples during the collection period that began on January 1 and ended on December 31. Regrettably, 125 of them returned Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs), with 49 of them being athletics samples.
Unfortunately, three minor track and field athletes and a minor weightlifter have been handed provisional suspensions by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
Furthermore, a total of 44 names have been added to the list of athletes under provisional suspensions. It’s important to note that at least 17 minors have faced sanctions with an ineligibility period spanning from two to four years according to the NADA website.