Track and field coach Ramesh suspended due to accomplice of stimulant, seven athletes evade tests
New Delhi: A series of gummy cases rocked Indian track and field, while junior national team chief coach Ramesh Nagpuri was hung in a stimulant “complices” by Nada, while seven athletes also performed “escape” tests on the dock.
Two other coaches – Karamveer Singh and Rakesh – were suspended for “co-conspiracy” and “prohibited substance administration,” respectively.
The seven athletes suspended from the latest list of drug offenders published by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) are Paras Singhal, Pooja Rani, Nalubothu Shanmuga Sreenivas, Chelimi Pratusha, Shubham Mahara, Kiran, Kiran and Jyoti.
The 19-year-old Singhal won the 2,000m 5,000m hop for Haryana at the 2024 Khelo Youth Games. Sreenivas won a silver medal of 200m in the 2024 Federal Cup, National Interstate Championships and National Open.
Nagpuri is located in the Indian Sports Authority of Hyderabad and has appointed junior chief coach of the Track and Field Federation of India (AFI) in 2023, and is a well-known Dronacharya Award-winning coach.
He was suspended under Article 2.9 of the NADA Anti-Doping Rule in 2021, which involves “athletes or other persons’ accomplice or attempted accomplice.”
According to this article, “Assist, encourage, help, teach, conspire, conceal, cover up, or any other type of intentional accomplice or accomplice involved in a violation of the Anti-excitation Rules, attempting to violate the Anti-Doping Rules or violation of Article 10.14.1 (including other persons or psychological assistance) constitutes a doping offence.”
According to sources, Nagpuri allegedly helped two athletes avoid the drug collection officer (DCO) sent by Nada at the Sai Hyderabad Center.
He coached Top Sprinter and Top Sprinter and women’s record holders Dutee Chand and Deepthi Jeevanji in the 2024 Paralympic Bronze Champion and Dominant World Champion (400 million T20 Category).
When contacted, Nagpuri declined to comment on the matter.
“I don’t want to comment on this. I’ve been serving Indian track and field,” he said.
AFI officials also declined to comment, saying it was NADA that had to deal with the matter.
This is not the first time that it has been punished for a stimulant-related offense.
In November 2022, Mumbai-based track and field coach Mickey Menezes imposed a four-year ban and a 50,000 rupees fine for his injecting his trainee Kirti Bhoite with a banned drostanolone, who were also granted a two-year ban.
Karamveer was suspended for similar charges to Nagpuri, and Rakesh’s offences fall under Section 2.8, which reads the management of athletes or others or attempts to give to any athletes a contender against any contender, or attempts to commit any contender against any contender or attempts to commit any contender.
Seven athletes who were revoked were prosecuted in Section 2.3 with “evasion, refusal or failure to evade, refusal or disobey sample collection under the grounds of unauthorized person notified without compulsiveness”.
Interestingly, AFI recently launched the mandatory registration process for coaches in the country and admitted that “coaches were involved in the stimulants in their wards.”
At the annual General Institutional Meeting in Chandigarh in January, AFI decided to sign up for all coaches (qualified and ineligible coaches) in the portal of this season if they want to continue training athletes to compete under the National Institution.
Coaches who are not registered with AFI will be blacklisted.
This is a complement to the formation of stimulant cells to identify coaches suspected of “stimulants involved in their wards” and recruited a list of training centers that serve as “hiding places” to deal with deception based on the recommendations of a high-power committee.
AFI will share this intelligence with the NADA and the Department of Track and Field Integrity (AIU), which was established by the World Track and Field Athletics.
In fact, AFI has begun the registration process, but has found a large number of coaches who are reluctant to register.
AFI was shocked by the doping case in track and field, setting up a high-power committee led by Sagarpreet Hooda, Special Cell Commissioner of the Delhi Police Department, to study the doping problem and to issue its recommendations.
