India Slapped With “Extremely High Risk” Doping Tag by World Athletics
India’s athletics has a serious problem — and the world is now watching.
The Athletics Integrity Unit has bumped the Athletics Federation of India from Category B to Category A under World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rules, placing India in the highest-risk bracket globally. The numbers tell the story: 48 violations in 2022, 63 in 2023, 71 in 2024. India ranked first in the world for violations last year.
Category A means stricter testing, mandatory out-of-competition checks, and enhanced oversight of national programmes.
AFI chief Adille Sumariwalla insists the federation has “a strong plan” and is “all for criminalising doping.” But the classification says something different. India has a lot of work to do before that label changes.