Runner Deepanshi fails dope test; NADA suspends her

New Delhi: Following the failure in a dope test by 400m runner Deepanshi, who won a silver medal in the National Inter-State Championship, the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) suspended her, PTI reported.

A 21-year-old top woman runner of India, Deepanshi had clocked a personal best time of 52.01 seconds to finish second behind Kiran Pahal (50.92) in the women's 400m final in Panchkula on Friday.

The in-competition urine sample, which was taken on June 27 (either after the heat race or semifinal), contained anabolic steroids.

"Yes, she has failed a dope test conducted during the National Inter-State Championships, and she has been provisionally suspended," a reliable source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

This was the first dope-positive case from the National Inter-State Championships (June 27-30), which was the final qualifying event for the Paris Olympics.

Deepanshi does not train at the national camp.

The Athletics Federation of India's (AFI) declared policy (for the national relay team) has been to pick only campers because they can be kept under close watch by the national body.

The case of Deepanshi might have justified the policy as she was the third fastest woman quarter-miler in the country before her dope flunk.

The rising Haryana athlete was a national U20 champion in 2021, but her best finish at the senior level was the third position at the Indian Grand Prix in Thiruvananthapuram in March last year.

At the National Inter-State, she clocked 53.87 in the heats and then 52.12 in the semifinals before further improving her time to 52.01 in the final.