New Delhi, May 12 (IANS): Boxer Akhil Kumar has been reinstated into the National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) Disciplinary Panel. The 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist had previously served in the panel from 2017 to 2019.

Akhil said that he is a firm believer in the fact that those who purposely indulge in doping should not go unpunished. "Some of them are honest mistakes committed by the athletes and this panel decides if it was done purposely or not," Akhil told IANS.

"There is a big difference between the two and those who do it purposely should be punished. More than anything else I feel that athletes should be prioritising their own well being."

He said that according to him, doping is the anti-thesis of the core principle of sports which is to take care of one's body.

"Sports started for health. And then with increase in competitons, the stakes also increase and in this environment athletes end up going the wrong way. We as athletes should take care of our health. That is the most basic thing. And by doping, more than anything we are putting our own health at risk," he said.

NADA on Saturday commenced both Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) and Anti-Doping Appeals Panel (ADAP) hearings through videoconferences.