Indian sprinter Nirmala Sheoran has been banned for a duration of four years for doping and stripped of two titles from the 2017 Asian Championships as well.
Indian sprinter Nirmala Sheoran banned for 4 years
The National Anti-Doping Laboratory in New Delhi returned a negative result, but the World Anti-doping Agency re-tested the sample of four Indian athletes, including Sheoran, in Montreal. All four tested positive.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, which manages track and field doping cases said on Wednesday that the Indian sprinter Nirmala has been tested positive for the steroids drostanolone and methenolone at a competition in India in June 2018. The AIU also said that Nirmala’s biological passport also showed irregular blood readings and she has accepted the charge and did not request a hearing and was ready to accept the consequences.
The 24-year-old sprinter’s ban was backdated to take effect from June 29, 2018, and hence her results from August 2016 to November 2018 were disqualified. Nirmala won gold medals in the 400 meters and 4×400 relay at the 2017 Asian Championships held in India.
An Athletics Federation of India (AFI) official said, “She has been banned for four years from 29th June 2018, the date of the sample collection. So, she has not been banned from the date of the order but from the date of sample collection.”
He further added, “Normally, the ban starts from the date of the order and it is seen that whether the athlete was provisionally suspended or not. If the athlete is provisionally suspended then they take four years from the date of the provisional suspension.”
AIU said in their decision, “Disqualification of the Athlete’s results from 15 August 2016 to 21 November 2018 with all resulting consequences including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money pursuant to Articles 9 and 10.8 ADR.”
