New Delhi, April 4 India has surpassed Kenya to top the Athletics Integrity Unit's (AIU) list of ineligible individuals due to doping violations, with 148 suspended track and field athletes, which is two more than the African nation.
The latest updated list is for the period up to April 1 of this year. Russia took the third spot with 66 suspended athletes.
Notable Indian athletes on the list include Dutee Chand, the national record holder in the women's 100m, who has been serving a four-year suspension since December 2022, Parvej Khan, a middle-distance runner, whose six-year suspension will end in July 2030, and Sekar Dhanalakshmi, a sprinter from Tamil Nadu, who was suspended for eight years in 2025.
The list includes individuals serving a period of ineligibility as a result of national-level cases and decisions.
It also includes individuals who have committed non-doping violations such as tampering, evading testing, trafficking, or failing to disclose their whereabouts, which carry the same penalties as a doping offence.
The Athletics Integrity Unit is an independent anti-doping watchdog established by World Athletics. It has jurisdiction over international-level athletes and their support personnel.
To tackle the doping menace, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has taken up strict measures, including identifying and shutting down centers within the country that are linked to the problem.
Asserting that coaches also play a significant role in the doping of their athletes, the AFI has also asked all coaches to register with it. Unregistered coaches will be blacklisted, and their trainees will be deemed ineligible for national awards.
Following the 2024 Paris Olympics, the AFI has decentralised the national camps. Currently, the AFI is only conducting national camps for relay teams.
All other elite athletes have chosen private organizations like Reliance, JSW, or Tata, and government departments like the Army and Navy, for training.