A crackdown on India’s performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) production – the biggest globally – is key to tackling the doping menace and protecting athletes, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Witold Banka says. Banka and his team have been in New Delhi as part of their push to build stronger ties with national law and order agencies, including cybercrime cells, to help uphold the credibility of professional sport. WADA has sought help from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) – federal police – to curtail the initial supply chain of racketeers and agents who peddle drugs.
WADA has been aggressive in curbing the doping crisis with its Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network (GAIIN) initiative since 2022. An INTERPOL-backed “operation upstream” has been a success for WADA with 250 raids around the world, 88 illicit labs dismantled and almost 90 tonnes of PEDs seized. We know it’s not only about the doping of the athletes.” Younger, a former head of the Bavarian Police’s Cybercrime Division, said to strike a blow against the doping menace the focus should be shifted from athletes to the suppliers of the PEDs.
India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) collected 7,113 urine and blood samples out of which 260 tested positive in 2024, according to a WADA report published in December last year. Pundits said it was a major blow to India, which is preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games – an event seen as a stepping stone for the country’s ambition of hosting the 2036 Olympics. But Banka said the figures have no bearing on India winning the right to host prestigious global sporting events.
The statistics show clearly the number of positive tests,” he said.
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