Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 12: Indian hammer thrower Manju Bala, who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, has been handed a five-year ban by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after testing positive for banned substances.

The 35-year-old athlete was found guilty of using dehydrochloromethyl-testosterone, an anabolic steroid, and SARMS LGD-4033 (ligandrol) — both listed under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited substances.

Her failed test was first revealed by NADA in September 2024, and the panel’s ruling, issued in October 2025, confirmed her suspension. The ban will be in effect from July 10, 2024, ruling her out of all domestic and international competitions until mid-2029.

Once among India’s top women hammer throwers, Manju had represented the country in multiple international meets and was considered one of the nation’s brightest prospects in the discipline.

In the same ruling, the ADDP also announced a string of suspensions across various sports. Athlete Mohan Saini received a four-year ban starting October 14, 2025, for a separate doping violation.

Among bodybuilders, Gopala Krishnan, Amit Kumar, and Rajvardhan Sanjay Waskar were each banned for six years, while Shubham Mahara was handed a four-year suspension.

In other cases, boxer Sumit was banned for two years, canoeist Nitin Verma for four years, and basketball player Shivendra Pandey for six years, after testing positive for prohibited substances.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) has upheld the four-year ban imposed in 2024 on sprinter Himani Chandel, rejecting her appeal. The panel stated that there were no procedural or substantive grounds to overturn the decision, reaffirming NADA’s commitment to a zero-tolerance policy on doping in Indian sports.