New Delhi, April 7 Weightlifter Sairaj Pardeshi, who won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships (junior), has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after failing a drug test, months after alleging a conspiracy by a coach to sabotage his career.
He has tested positive for "Metanolone," a banned anabolic steroid that aids muscle building.
The 18-year-old from Maharashtra, who won gold in the men's 88kg junior category at the Commonwealth Championships last year, has alleged a conspiracy behind the results.
He wrote to the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) and the Sports Authority of India in October, claiming that a coach present at the national camp had a personal vendetta against him.
In an email dated October 24, 2025, Sairaj alleged that the coach, whose identity has been withheld by the weightlifter, had instigated others to tamper with his food and water.
"The coach made my friends and some competitors mix drugs into my food or water bottle," Sairaj wrote in the email.
He further claimed that the coach had also threatened to "ruin" his career.
"After my Commonwealth Championships performance, I started gaining recognition. The coach wanted credit for my success despite not training me.
"Then some people heard the coach say, 'Sairaj is getting ahead, we need to bring him down somehow, mix something in his food.' This was in October," he alleged.
Sairaj, who is part of NADA's Registered Testing Pool, said he reported the matter immediately. A drug test conducted on October 26, two days after his complaint, returned negative.
However, in an out-of-competition test in December, Sairaj was found positive for "Metanolone," leading to a provisional ban. As a result, he was unable to participate in the National Championships in February.
"I have undergone several drug tests and have never failed before this. I was in Patiala from October to December and did not travel anywhere," Sairaj said.
The IWLF has also conducted an inquiry, the findings of which are yet to be revealed.
"We have appealed that the athlete be allowed to compete at events where he is not allowed to compete during the provisional suspension," Sairaj's lawyer Munish Nagar said.
Sairaj, hailing from Manmad in Maharashtra, has been a consistent performer on the junior circuit.
At the Commonwealth Championship in Ahmedabad, he lifted a total of 348kg to clinch gold – a performance that would also have secured him the top spot in the senior category.
He had also won a bronze medal at the 2024 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Doha.