India has joined an elite list of countries that have an Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) used to detect doping. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the world's 17th APMU at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in New Delhi on Thursday.

USA, China, Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Spain and Switzerland are the other countries with APMU at its WADA-accredited dope testing facilities. WADA is the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"APMU is a key milestone in India's fight against doping, enabling the longitudinal tracking of athletes biological profiles through the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system. This innovative mechanism will help in detecting doping patterns and protect the fairness of sports by identifying unethical practices," Mandaviya said at the inauguration.

An APMU serves as a specialised body to monitor and manage the biological passports of athletes, which is a compilation of variables such as blood parameters, hormonal levels, and other physiological markers to detect doping.

ADVERTISEMENT

The system will track athletes' blood and steroidal profiles over time. In addition to identifying athletes who use prohibited substances, the proclaimed goal of an APMU is also to support those who comply with anti-doping rules. The minister said India's APMU will also help neighbouring countries that don't have enough resources to set up similar systems.

TAGS

Google News Add as a preferred source on Google
The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.