NEW DELHI, June 25: Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the National Dope Testing Laboratory’s operations here on Thursday and said awareness campaigns against the “serious challenge” need to be expanded to include schools and colleges going forward.
Reiterating that abuse of prohibited substances remains a major concern for the country’s rapidly expanding sporting ecosystem, Mandaviya announced that Khelo India athletes will undergo mandatory anti-doping awareness sessions and the ‘Know Your Medicine’ app will be translated into regional languages to ensure easy availability of information.
Emphasising the importance of preventive measures against doping, Mandaviya said, “Athletes participating in the National Games and Khelo India competitions will undergo mandatory anti-doping awareness sessions.” A few months ago, the sports ministry had acknowledged that over 1300 athletes were weeded out of the Khelo India mission in the past three years. A significant number of them were ousted due to doping violations.
Highlighting the need for wider public outreach, the Minister announced that the ‘Know Your Medicine’ mobile application will be translated into regional languages.“Making anti-doping information available in local languages would help athletes, coaches, and support personnel across the country better understand prohibited substances and ensure informed decision-making,” he explained.Mandaviya also stressed on the need to enhance the global footprint of NDTL and stated that, “efforts should be made to increase testing of samples from international athletes at the laboratory.” Last year the NDTL tested over 7,000 samples with a positivity rate of 1.5 per cent. India has been topping the WADA annual list of highest dope offenders for the past three years.Although the government is working towards amending the existing anti-doping law to criminalise trafficking and possession of banned subtsances, Mandaviya noted that punishment alone cannot address the issue.He said a societal movement promoting clean sports and clean sportspersons is essential.NDTL is India’s only WADA-accredited laboratory. It is one of the six labs in Asia recognised by WADA. The others are in China, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, and Thailand. (PTI)
