Lalith Kumar, who ran 100-metre final alone at Delhi State Athletics Meet, tests positive for doping  

In September, Lalit Kumar grabbed the headlines for running a 100-metre final alone at the Delhi State Athletics Meet as all seven of his other opponents had withdrawn citing different reasons. And now, in a major development, the athlete has himself failed a dope test.

The National Anti-Doping Agency has found anabolic steroids in his sample and thus, he is now on the verge of getting banned by the Athletics Federation of India. Not being aware of the presence of dope testers sent by NADA at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, he was the only athlete present at the 100-metre final at the Delhi State Athletics Meet.

All the other seven opponents, who qualified after competing in the semi-finals, pulled out of the race. A lot of other athletes from other race events also didn’t show up for their respective competitions.

Lalith Kumar refused to provide second after testing postive for doping

The incident also reflected the current scenario of Indian athletics as far as doping is concerned. After running alone in the 100-metre race in September, Lalit Kumar gave his sample for testing. After his first sample was found to be positive for a banned substance, Lalith refused to give the B Sample to NADA. There is a high possibility that he could face a ban from the AFI.

A video of used syringes found in the washroom of the stadium had also gone viral before the start of the Delhi meet. The syringes were, reportedly, used for injecting performance-enhancing drugs.

The Indian testing methods have been receiving severe criticism after secret investigations exposed several malfunction and negligence. World Athletics, the international governing body, are quite aware about the current situation and are likely to take strict action over India’s dope testing methods.

Amidst all that, the Athletics Federation of India are yet to submit the report of their investigation into the doping scandal at the Delhi State Athletics Meet at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium.