After World Athletics intervention, French Athletics meet accepts entries of Indians previously barred for high Indian doping numbers

The Meeting de Limoges’ previous decision had come after WADA’s 2022 doping report where India had registered the highest percentage of failed dope tests among countries with more than 2,000 test samples.

Representative Image: The decision to cancel the entries of three Indian athletes, including a Commonwealth Games champion and a junior world medallist, last week after initially accepting them last month had been controversial since none of the athletes had failed a dope test but were expected to prove their innocence all the same. | Photo Credit: AP

The entries of three Indian athletes to participate in the athletics meet in France, which had been cancelled by organisers citing controversies related to doping in India, have been restored following the intervention of the World Athletics Federation.

“After discussion with World Athletics, we obviously agree to put the three athletes in the long list of pre-inscriptions of the Meeting. We will confirm the starting list no later than two weeks before the meeting,” organisers of the Meeting de Limoges, a challenger-level athletics meet on the Continental Tour of the World Athletics calendar informed athletes representatives.

“Our wishes simply ensure our ability to propose a true sporting spectacle and we are sorry for the misunderstanding that has been generated. We wish to promote a sport “clean” and it is perfect,” the organisers said in an email.

The decision to cancel the entries of three Indian athletes, including a Commonwealth Games champion and a junior world medallist, last week after initially accepting them last month had been controversial since none of the athletes had failed a dope test but were expected to prove their innocence all the same.

While cancelling their entry earlier this week the organisers justified their decision stating, “The organization took this decision in view of the various controversies related to doping and athletics in India. The organization does not want to take even the slightest risk on this topic in the framework of the meeting, and since there is no possibility of proving that your athletes are not part of doping, the organization prefers to remain cautious.”

In recent months, India has increasingly come under the scanner of global anti-doping bodies. The Meeting de Limoges’ decision came shortly after the release of the 2022 Testing Figures report by WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) according to which India had registered the highest percentage of failed dope tests among countries which tested more than 2,000 samples.

According to the report India tested 3,865 samples (urine, and blood combined) during the recorded period, of which 125 returned adverse analytical findings. This amounts to 3.2 percent of the samples, WADA said in its report released last Wednesday.

Adille Sumariwalla, president of the Indian Athletics Association and current vice president of World Athletics did not comment on the decision to reinstate the athletes’ entries.