National-level triple jumper Sheena Varkey latest to be caught in dope net

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) Triple jumper Sheena Varkey, who has won multiple national-level medals and even represented the country internationally, has been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after testing positive for a prohibited substance.

The 32-year-old had also competed in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

"Sheena Varkey has been suspended," a well-placed source told PTI but did not divulge the details of the banned substance in question.

Varkey, who hails from Kerala, had won a silver medal at the Uttarakhand National Games this year and a bronze in the Federation Cup after that. In 2018, she had won a silver medal at the Asian Indoor Championships.

The latest failed test continues the alarmingly regular dope setbacks for India's athletes.

On August 11, National Games gold-winning discus thrower Gagandeep Singh was among a bunch of athletes across sports who were handed three-year bans by NADA after they accepted their offence within 20 days of being charged.

Representing Services, Singh had won gold in men's discus with a best throw of 55.01m at the Uttarakhand National Games on February 12. He later tested positive for testosterone metabolites and was handed provisional suspension.

As per the 2023 testing figures released by the World Anti-Doping Agency, India's positivity rate for banned substances stood at 3.8 per cent -- 214 Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) from 5606 samples.

Of the 5606 tests, 2748 were conducted in-competition.

India's positivity rate for banned substances is significantly higher than China, USA , France , Germany and Russia. All these countries have a positivity rate of one per cent or lower.

As per WADA numbers, athletics leads the number of India's positive cases with 61 AAFs from 1223 samples. PTI PDS PM PM APA APA