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ARTICLE AD BOX
3 min readApr 24, 2026 10:20 PM IST
Ramesh, the current junior national coach employed by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and a Dronacharya awardee, has been suspended for violation of article 2.9 of the National Anti-Doping Rules. (Representative photo)
National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) unit’s tip-off related to prohibited substances resulted in a joint task force seizing multiple prohibited substances including anabolic steroids like stanozolol and methenolone in Najafgarh on Friday. The joint operation was led by Central Food Safety Officers (CFSOs) along with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) officials.
The joint task force confiscated more 2,500 capsules and 11 injectable units of the prohibited substances including steroids. Three hundred Methandienone and 850 Oxandrolone tablets along with 1,500 Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARMs) capsules were recovered from the premises of Gaurav Vats Nutrition. Injections of Adenosine Monophosphate, a prohibited hormone and metabolic modulator that helps endurance, were also among the recoveries.
All the seized substances are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“We got information from our sources that such things are happening in Najafgarh. After getting the intelligence, we investigated the matter. Our officials brought the sports being sold there and got it tested independently,” a source close to the development told The Indian Express. “Once the results showed the presence of banned substances, we alerted the regulatory bodies that conducted the raid and seized the prohibited substances.”
Last week, WADA President Witold Banka and head of WADA Investigations and Intelligence Unit Gunter Younger also emphasized on intelligence gathering while attending a conference in India organized by NADA. “The way to curb doping instances is by targeted testing. Athletes are the victims and we have to target the ones supplying these prohibited substances. Given the population of India, more than testing, we need to attack these supply chains that help in moving the prohibited substances,” Younger had told this paper last week.
WADA President Witold Banka at the Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network (GAIIN) Final Conference. (Express Photo)
WADA has decided to collaborate with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take a ‘top to down’ approach to curb anti-doping activities in the nation as part of Operation Upstream. The operation has resulted in seizure of 88 illegal labs and 90 tonnes of PEDs, effectively preventing 1.8 billion such doses from reaching the market.
NADA is expected to focus more on intelligence gathering and attack the supply chains to disrupt the movement of prohibited substances within the nation.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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