Doping violations undermine the credibility of India's sporting achievements. Suggest institutional reforms.

India won a record 114 medals at the 2026 Asian Para Games. But this came just after its Hangzhou 2022 tally was cut from 111 to 108, because three medals were withdrawn for doping about three years after those Games [1]. Doping cases found after the event show that credibility depends on clean systems as much as on winning medals.

How doping undermines credibility

• Medals taken back later: withdrawals rewrite the record books and weaken the claim that India now wins efficiently with "fewer athletes, more medals" [1].
• Doubt about the whole system: a WADA investigation found that NADA had not tested some athletes in its registered testing pool enough and had not monitored where they were properly [4]. Lapses like these make even clean Indian results suspect abroad.
• Caught too late: violations found only at or after competition point to weak national testing and education.
• Soft power: a doping image hurts India's case for hosting major sporting events.

Institutional reforms

• A truly independent NADA: implement the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025. It gives NADA operational independence from federations and government departments, and it removes the Board's power to direct the disciplinary and appeal panels [3]. Protect this independence through secure funding.
• Statutory enforcement: use the 2022 Act's framework fully, with a statutory NADA and separate disciplinary and appeal panels [2]. Set time limits for hearings so cases do not drag on for years.
• Testing before selection: make out-of-competition testing compulsory for TOPS and national-camp athletes before teams are picked, and tie funding to a clean record.
• Federation accountability: cut grants to, or suspend recognition of, NSFs with repeated violations, and sanction coaches and support staff involved.
• Capacity: fill SAI's vacant posts (about 45% are vacant) [5] with sports-science and nutrition staff. Expand testing at labs that meet the requirement for WADA accreditation [3].
• Education and nutrition: kit and nutrition stipends have not been revised for years [5]. Raise them and provide a list of tested, safe supplements so athletes do not turn to unregulated products. Start anti-doping education at Khelo India level.
• Para-specific measures: raise awareness of Therapeutic Use Exemptions among para athletes who take regular medication.

Reform pathway

Educate → Test before selection → Independent NADA → Quick hearings → Accountable NSFs

Flowchart: prevention first, sanctions last

Taken together, credibility needs both prevention and deterrence. If NADA is independent, athletes are tested before they are picked and federations are held responsible, India's medals will last. This also supports the Olympic ideal of fair play and India's commitments under the UNESCO anti-doping convention, as reflected in the 2022 Act.