Doping controversy has hit Indian athletics again with three members of the national record holding women's 4x100m relay team facing a ban for charges of anti-doping violations. The fourth member, former world junior champion Him Das, is out of action following a hamstring injury.
India did not take part in the women's 4x100m relay event at the recently concluded Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok. With the team management struggling to find replacements for the formidable quartet, the women's 4x100m relay team has not qualified for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.
It was at the 2021 Indian Grand Prix Athletics that the quartet of Dutee Chand, Dhanalakshmi Sekar, Archana Suseentran and Hima set a national record by clocking 43.37s, five seconds faster than the previous best.
Days before the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Dhanalakshmi was banned from competing for three years by the Athletics Integrity Unit for failing a dope test. The absence of Dhanalakshmi, who had clocked a very impressive 11.26s (joint second in India's all-time list) in 100m, hurt India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games as the 4x100m relay team missed a medal by finishing fourth.
India's fastest woman and double silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Games, Dutee tested positive for a prohibited substance and was handed a provisional suspension in January this year. The 26-year-old Odisha sprinter tested positive for prohibited anabolic steroids during an out-of-competition testing.
The 23-year-old Hima, who clinched the silver medal in the 400m race at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, suffered a hamstring injury on 14 April, a day before the Indian Grand Prix IV in Bengaluru. As she is expected to be out of action for at least four months, she will miss the Asian Games in China next month.
Archana, the remaining member of the team, too was caught in the doping net last month. Ahead of the Asian Athletics Championship, she was slapped an 18-month ban by a National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel after she tested positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition test. Archana, who was dropped from the Indian squad after failing the dope test, has filed an appeal against the provisional ban.
