India javelin thrower and Tokyo Olympian Shivpal Singh has been handed a 10-year ban after being found guilty of a second doping offence.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) Disciplinary Panel imposed the ban after Shivpal tested positive for Methandienone, a prohibited substance. The 31-year-old now faces a lengthy spell away from the sport, which could bring his athletics career to an end.
Shivpal has been one of India’s leading javelin throwers in recent years. He won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Championships with a personal best of 86.23m and also represented India at the Tokyo Olympics.
Shivpal was previously banned for four years
This is not Shivpal’s first doping offence. He was previously caught in 2021 after testing positive for steroids during an out-of-competition test.
In August 2022, NADA’s Disciplinary Panel found him guilty and handed him a four-year ban.
Shivpal appealed the decision, arguing that the banned substance had entered his system through a supplement he had taken. In January 2023, NADA’s appeal panel accepted his explanation and reduced his suspension from four years to just one year.
He returned to competition in April 2023.
Won National Games gold after comeback
Shivpal made a strong return after completing his reduced suspension. He won a bronze medal at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar in June 2023.
A few months later, he went on to win gold in the javelin throw at the 2023 National Games in Goa.
However, his latest doping violation has now put his career in serious doubt.
MV Jilna, Swapna Barman also face suspensions
Shivpal is not the only Indian athlete to face a doping case recently.
Sprinter MV Jilna has been provisionally suspended after a second doping case. Her sample reportedly returned positive for Mephentermine, a prohibited substance.
Former Asian Games champion Swapna Barman has also been suspended by NADA after testing positive for Boldenone.
Barman won the heptathlon gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. She retired from athletics earlier this year.