New Delhi:The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) is intensifying its efforts to hold coaches and support staff accountable for facilitating doping, a practice that has often gone unpunished, as reported by HT.

During the National Federation Senior Athletics Championship held in Kochi on Monday, NADA dope testers required all athletes to list the names of their coaches and medical personnel on the doping control forms prior to sample collection.

This initiative follows the suspension of chief junior coach Ramesh Nagpuri by NADA on Saturday for his alleged involvement in helping two athletes avoid doping tests at the SAI center in Hyderabad.

Additionally, two other coaches—Karamveer Singh (judo/athletics) and Rakesh (athletics)—were also suspended for their roles in ‘complicity’ and for the ‘administration of prohibited substances.’ This marks a significant shift in NADA's approach towards coaches. Ramesh, a recipient of the Dronacharya Award, is recognized as the coach of Dutee Chand and several other promising junior athletes.

In 2022, there was a notable case where Mumbai coach Mickey Menezes faced punishment and a ban for ‘complicity’ after one of his trainees failed a doping test, but such actions had been rare.

Recent discussions among stakeholders revealed that former athletes urged NADA officials to enforce accountability among coaches and impose sanctions if they are found guilty. Last year, the Athletics Federation of India also proposed that athletes disclose their coaches' names before competitions.

While athletes are required to provide the names of their doctors and coaches, they have the option to select ‘none,’ ‘unknown’—if they do not know the names—or ‘declined’ when completing the collection forms.

The World Anti-Doping Agency includes provisions (Article 2.9) that allow for the banning of coaches for actions such as assisting, encouraging, or conspiring in any manner related to violations of anti-doping rules.

Federation Cup

On the inaugural day of the competition, javelin thrower Sachin Yadav secured the gold medal with an impressive throw of 83.86 meters. This season, Sachin has demonstrated remarkable form, as evidenced by his attempts of 78.04m, 80.22m, 75.97m, 79.69m, and 83.67m.

All seven top throwers surpassed the Asian Championships qualification mark of 75.36m. However, Sachin fell short of the World Championships qualifying mark of 85.50m. Yashvir Singh claimed the silver medal with a throw of 80.85m, while Sahil Silwal took home the bronze with a distance of 77.84m.

In the men’s 100m event, Gurindervir Singh from Punjab unexpectedly failed to make a significant impact. The Reliance athlete, who had set a national record earlier this season, finished last in the final on Monday.

Pranav Pramod Gurav of the Railways emerged as the surprising champion, clocking a time of 10.27 seconds, surpassing well-known competitors such as Animesh Kujur (10.32 seconds) and Manikanta Hoblidhar (10.35 seconds). None of the sprinters were able to achieve the Asian qualifying time of 10.25 seconds.

Gurav, who arrived at the venue without a coach, celebrated his victory. His previous best time was 10.54 seconds, recorded last year.

“I did not anticipate winning gold here due to the strong competition. This achievement is the result of years of hard work. My grandfather, who has been my unwavering supporter, is currently unwell and in the ICU. I wish to dedicate this medal to him,” Gurav expressed.

During the morning session, Sawan Barwal, a distance runner from the Army, set a new meet record in the men’s 10,000m and qualified for the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. Barwal finished with a time of 28:57.13, earning gold at the National Games this season. His performance surpassed the previous meet record of 28:57.90, established in 2007 by Surendra Singh. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had set the qualification time for the men’s 10,000m at 29:33.26.

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