Tokyo Olympian discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur fails dope test, provisionally suspended

India's Tokyo Olympics finalist discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur could miss the 2022 Commonwealth Games, 2022 Asian Games, and 2024 Paris Olympics after being provisionally suspended for using a banned substance.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) confirmed on Wednesday that Kamalpreet tested positive for the use of Stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid. The athlete could face a suspension of up to four years, throwing her career in disarray.

“The AIU has provisionally suspended discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur of India for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Stanozolol), a breach of the WorldAthletics Anti-Doping Rules,” the Athletics Integrity Unit tweeted.

The ace discus thrower shot to fame by finishing sixth at the Tokyo Olympics and is also the only Indian woman to go past the 65m mark in the sport.

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The AIU has now issued a 'notice of allegation' to the 26-year-old athlete.

Kamalpreet was tested on March 29 in an out-of-competition test and the results returned positive. The athlete can now opt for a hearing, plead guilty and seek a reduction in the tenure of her ban.

Kamalpreet Kaur out of national camp

Kamalpreet Kaur is part of the Sports Authority of India's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). She was initially also a part of the ongoing athletics national camp, being conducted by the Athletics Federation of India from April 16.

Speculation was rife when Kamalpreet opted out of the national camp citing a knee injury.

Kamalpreet was also included in the AIU Registered Testing Pool in January this year. It requires her to inform the authorities of her whereabouts on a quarterly basis. The athlete also needs to provide samples for testing at designated time slots and test centers.

The national discus throw record is in the name of Kamalpreet, who achieved a distance of 66.59m in Patiala last year. At the Tokyo Olympics, she managed 64.00m in qualifying and threw 63.70m in the final to finish sixth.

In the ongoing season, the discus thrower's lone competition was the Indian Grand Prix where she won the gold medal with a throw of 61.39m.