New Delhi: Triple jumper NV Sheena, a national medallist and international competitor, has been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after testing positive for a banned substance.

"Sheena Varkey has been suspended," a well-placed source told PTI, but did not divulge the details of the banned substance in question. The 32-year-old, who represented India at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, is the latest athlete to be caught in the doping net. 

Hailing from Kerala, Varkey had recently claimed silver at the Uttarakhand National Games and bronze at the Federation Cup. She also won a silver at the 2018 Asian Indoor Championships.

Her suspension adds to a worrying trend of doping violations in Indian athletics. Just last week, National Games gold-winning discus thrower Gagandeep Singh was among several athletes banned for three years after admitting to violations.

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 As per the 2023 testing figures released by the World Anti-Doping Agency, India's positivity rate for banned substances stood at 3.8 per cent -- 214 Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) from 5,606 samples. Of the 5,606 tests, 2,748 were conducted in-competition. India's positivity rate for banned substances is significantly higher than China, USA , France , Germany and Russia. All these countries have a positivity rate of one per cent or lower. As per WADA numbers, athletics leads the number of India's positive cases with 61 AAFs from 1,223 samples.

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