Warning to India for 2036 Olympics: ITA Chief said – Indian players run away from doping test

New York: The head of the International Testing Agency (ITA), the body that manages the anti-doping program at the Olympic Games and other major global competitions, has expressed concern over the high rate of doping cases in India, athletes not being given ‘advance notice before testing’ and not providing their samples. ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen said in a report that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has sent a message that if India wants to host the 2036 Games, it will have to make “a number of reforms at the governance and structural level”. “We are concerned about the doping situation in India and we are getting information about a number of incidents happening on the ground,” Cohen said, according to The Athletic, which covers sports news for The New York Times.

He said, “We are also hearing such stories that players run away to avoid doping tests. We have also received information that athletes are given advance notice before testing.” In addition to overseeing anti-doping tests on behalf of the IOC, the Lausanne-based ITA also manages the anti-doping programs of approximately 50 international sports federations.

Cohen said he met with officials from the New Delhi-based National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the recent Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy, and was encouraged by their apparent willingness to work closely with the ITA. But he also acknowledged that convincing India to work closely with the ITA would not be an easy task as it could be seen as an admission (by India) of the failure of its (anti-doping) system.

“I would say frankly that there is still some resistance to India associating with ITA, because there may be a perception in India that it is almost an admission of failure of the system or that they are not seen as competent enough to deal with their problems, so they have to join hands with an independent international organisation,” he said.

“But I think they (India) are on the right track because now it is clear that the IOA and the Sports Ministry want to do something in this direction,” Cohen said. They have the resources, so I think it’s only a matter of time.” India has topped the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of doping violations for three consecutive years. India will host the Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad in 2030 and is also in the race to host the Olympic Games in 2036.