Two Indian athletes banned for steroid use

Two Indian athletes have received four-year bans from competition after testing positive for banned substances. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) announced the suspensions on Wednesday. Sprinter Akshay Nain tested positive for a steroid called Drostanolone. He won silver in the 200m and bronze in the 400m at the 2023 National Open. His ban will last from October 23, 2023. Nain has personal best times of 10.85 seconds for the 100m, 20.97 seconds for the 200m, and 46.40 seconds for the 400m. Race walker Aditya Negi also faces a four-year ban. He tested positive for 19-Norandrosterone. Negi, who won silver in the 10km race walk at the National U-20 Race Walking Championships in 2024, is already serving a provisional suspension. His ban started on February 22, 2024. NADA's announcements follow a decision made by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) on February 18. On the same day, two other athletes also received suspensions: wrestler Pawan Kumar was given a two-year ban and boxer Pravesh Kumar a three-year suspension.