New Delhi: Cricketer Bhupen Lalwani, weightlifter Ajith Narayana, who had won two bronzes in the recent Asian Championships in Gandhinagar, and wrestler Sahil Jaglan, who took part in Asian Games trials a few days ago, were among several athletes handed provisional suspension by the NADA for failing dope tests.
Women’s 1500m national record holder KM Deeksha was also handed provisional suspension after her dope sample was found to contain Stanozolol, a steroid.
Her dope flunk has already been reported by PTI, but the details of the nature of the prohibited substance, and whether she was handed suspension or not, were not known then.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Saturday issued a list of 24 athletes from various sports who have been handed provisional suspension as of June 3.
One of the few cricketers to have been caught for doping, Lalwani has represented Mumbai and Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket. He switched to Uttarakhand last season. Overall, he has played 25 First-Class matches, three List A and two T20 games.
He tested positive for Terbutaline, which is widely used as a bronchodilator for the treatment of asthma but is available in formulations in the market. It is banned both in- and out-of-competition under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code unless pre-approved through Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).
Interesting case of wrestler Sahil Jagla
The case for 19-year-old Jaglan, who tested positive for steroid Stanozolol, is interesting as he competed in the Asian Games selection trials in Lucknow on May 31.
He was tested out-of-competition on March 26 in Lucknow and the NADA informed him about his Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) on May 26. He was handed a provisional suspension with immediate effect.
Still, he was allowed to compete in Lucknow five days later. He lost to Deepak Punia, the eventual winner in the men’s 97kg, in the first round.
Five dope-flunked weightlifters’ names finally revealed
NADA’s latest list also revealed the dope flunk by five weightlifters, after the national federation officials refused to confirm the development for days.
The five weightlifters who have been handed provisional suspension are Ajith Narayana, Vanshita Verma, Harcharan Singh, Heena, and S B Charukesh.
Ajith had won a bronze each in the clean and jerk section, as well as in the total lift in the men’s 71kg category in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar last month.
Vanshita and Harcharan also competed in Gandhinagar, while Heena is a national championships medal winner. Charukesh is a Khelo India Youth Games medallist.
Both Ajith and Harcharan tested positive for growth hormone, while Vanshita and Heena’s dope samples were found to contain Stanozolol steroid.
According to the 2026 CWG qualification rules, if there are multiple anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) committed by weightlifters and/or weightlifting athlete support personnel during the June 1, 2025 to July 22, 2026 period, the maximum number of athlete qualification slots allocated to a Commonwealth Games Association (meaning IOA here) will be reduced by the same number as the number of ADRVs.
The sanction will have to come from the International Testing Agency (ITA) on behalf of the IWF or any other Anti-Doping Organisation.
Meanwhile, 12 track and field athletes, including Deeksha, have also been handed provisional suspension. The 11 others are Bhim Maan, Tamsi Singh, Sunil Kumar, Adetya Singh, Sandeep, Punit, Reshma, Soni Devi, Aryan Tyagi, Harish Yadav, and Pooja Kumari.