Current Affairs » Indian Javelin throw athlete Shivpal Singh suspended till 2025 for doping

Indian Javelin throw athlete Shivpal Singh suspended till 2025 for doping

Shivpal Singh, an Indian Olympic javelin throw athlete, is suspended for four years after testing positive for a prohibited substance. Shivpal, India’s second most outstanding javelin athlete behind Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, failed a drug test in September last year. Shivpal tested guilty of methandienone, an overall performance-enhancing steroid, after finishing 27th in javelin qualification at last season’s pandemic-delayed Games. This retrospective decision was taken in the month of October 2022. However, the ban imposed by India’s anti-doping discipline tribunal on the 27-year-old began with his interim suspension in October of last year. According to the panel, it will conclude in October 2025.

Shivpal won silver in the Asian Championships in Doha in 2019 with a personal best throw of 86.23m. He joins a rising number of Indian sportsmen suspended this year for doping, including Tokyo Olympic discus throw athlete Kamalpreet Kaur.

Key Takeaways

  • After Shivpal Singh returned positive for a prohibited substance, Indian anti-doping officials barred him from competing in the event for four years.
  • Shivpal, the second-best javelin thrower in India behind Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, was disqualified from competition in September of last year after failing a test.
  • Shivpal tested guilty for methandienone, a result-enhancing steroid, at the pandemic-delayed Games last summer when he placed 27th in the javelin qualification.
  • The anti-doping disciplinary body in India’s punishment of the 27-year-old athlete took effect from his temporary suspension in October last year. According to the panel, it expires in October 2025.
  • Based on a World Anti-Doping Agency study published last year, India is third in the world regarding the number of doping infractions, behind Russia and Italy.

The Incident

After Shivpal Singh returned positive for a prohibited substance, Indian anti-doping officials barred him from competing in the Tokyo Olympics for four years. Shivpal, the second-best javelin thrower in India behind Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, was disqualified from competition in September of last year after failing a test. Shivpal tested guilty for methandienone, a steroid result, at the pandemic-delayed Games last summer when he placed 27th in the javelin qualification. 

The anti-doping disciplinary body in India’s punishment of the 27-year-old athlete took effect from his temporary suspension in October last year. According to the panel, it expires in October 2025.  2019’s Asian Championships at Doha saw his pal earn silver with a throw of 86.23 metres, a personal best. 

He joins a rising number of Indian athletes disciplined for doping in the year, including Kamalpreet Kaur, an Olympic discus thrower from Tokyo. Based on a World Anti-Doping Agency study published last year, India is third in the world regarding the number of doping infractions, behind Russia and Italy.

About Shivpal Singh’s Journey

Shivpal Singh, a javelin thrower and (SNCO) Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in the Indian Air Force, was born on July 6, 1995. He earned the silver medal in the 2019 Asian Championship after placing 8th just at the 2018 Asian Games. At the 2019 IAAF World Championships, Shivpal Singh could not advance to the men’s javelin throw championship round.

At the 2016 Budapest Open Athletics at Hungary, Shivpal Singh took first place in the men’s javelin throw competition. In the previous Asian Games, which were held in 2018, he placed eighth since he could only complete one of his three throws owing to an elbow ailment.

He was chosen to compete in the junior world championships in 2015. However, the injury prevented him from making the team. The young person from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, has had quite the trip from national championships to a big stage.

Shivpal Singh, an Indian javelin throw athlete, was given a four-year suspension for failing a drug test last year by the same NADA’s Anti-Doping Discipline Panel.

In October last year, Shivpal, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, was suspended after failing a test. He responded to detection for the drug Methandienone, which is prohibited.

The twenty-seven-year-old Uttar Pradesh athlete’s suspension time started on October 21 of last year and will run until October 2025.

The Origins of Doping

Athlete’s use of illegal chemicals, pills, or therapies to enhance sports performance is called “doping.” Athletes have been using drugs for ages. But recently, it has drawn more attention because of the extensive range of possible performance-enhancing substances that are now readily available and because of well-publicised instances of doping among elite athletes covered by the media.

It has been known for decades, since the advent of athletics, that performance may be improved by medication treatments and food. A specialised diet and various herbs and plants believed to increase physical strength and performance were supplied to members appointed to be athletes. At the Olympic Games in 1904, the first case of doping was discovered in a runner with a strychnine injection to help with speed which allegedly gave him the energy to complete the race.

Regulations on Doping

It was also noticed that the athletes frequently had negative health consequences and even premature mortality that seemed to be related to the doping techniques, despite the obvious boost in performance documented in many athletes across several centuries. The International Athletics Association Federation originally outlawed doping in 1928 due to these negative effects and fatalities. However, because of the lack of testing facilities at the time, this restriction was found to be insufficient. 

Doping was outlawed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1967, and the IOC spearheaded the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999. (WADA). Today, WADA serves as the global foundation for anti-doping regulations and testing and helps set the bar for other organisations and sports. WADA’s key initiatives include raising awareness of the health concerns, researching the practices, developing anti-doping tools, and creating testing procedures for doping detection.