Runner Deepanshi fails doping test; NADA suspends her

New Delhi: After 400m runner Deepanshi, who won a silver medal at the National Inter-State Championship, failed a doping test, she has been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), PTI reported.

Deepanshi, a 21-year-old top Indian runner, clocked a personal best of 52.01 seconds in the women’s 400m final in Panchkula on Friday to finish second behind Kiran Pahal (50.92).

The in-competition urine sample taken on June 27 (either after the preliminary round or the semifinal) contained anabolic steroids.

“Yes, she failed a doping test during the National Inter-State Championships and has been provisionally suspended,” a reliable source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

This was the first doping case at the National Inter-State Championships (27-30 June), the last qualifying event for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Deepanshi is not training in the national camp.

The stated policy of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) (for the national relay team) is to select only campers as they can be closely monitored by the national federation.

Deepanshi’s case may have justified this measure, as she was the third fastest quarter-mile runner in the country before her doping failure.

The rising athlete from Haryana was the 2021 national under-20 champion, but her best result at the senior level was third place at the Indian Grand Prix in Thiruvananthapuram in March last year.

At the National Inter-State, she achieved a time of 53.87 in the preliminary rounds and 52.12 in the semi-finals before further improving her time to 52.01 in the final.