Javelin Thrower DP Manu Faces a Four-Year Career Ban: Big Breaking

Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena, Shivpal Singh, DP Manu

April 12, 2025

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Big Breaking: Javelin Thrower DP Manu Faces a Four-Year Career Ban

Javelin Throw has become an increasingly growing sport in the country. Though it has been a part of the track and field athletics since years, the sport got its much-deserved popularity after one of the greatest of modern times, Neeraj Chopra clinched Olympic medals and made people recognize its value.

While there are many known athletes of this outdoor sport, who have created a name for themselves and represented the nation on different global platforms, one of them has come into the limelight for an infamous reason.

The Asian Championship silver medallist and javelin throw athlete DP Manu has been handed over a four-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for testing positive for a prohibited substance called methyltestosterone.

Manu was tested during the Indian GP athletics meet in Bengaluru in April 2023, after winning the coveted title with a throw of 81.91 metres. His sample showed traces of an anabolic-androgenic steroid, and he was provisionally suspended by NADA thereafter.

Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena, Shivpal Singh, DP Manu

Post that he was asked to stay away from all competitions by the Athletics Federation of India on the instructions of NADA.

The 25-year-old Manu was poised to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024 through world ranking quota but missed out on competing alongside Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena due to the positive result.

For the information of readers, Methyltestosterone in sports is particularly used for increasing a player’s muscle mass and enhancing the on-field performance. Manu’s four-year ban has commenced in retrospect from June 24, 2024, last year. This came into effect since NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) recently announced its verdict.

The former national champion’s career-best throw so far has been 84.35 metres, which he achieved in Chennai in June 2022.

Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena, Shivpal Singh, DP Manu

Manu finished second behind Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra with a throw of 82.06 metres in the Federation Cup 2024 held in Bhubaneswar. He later also won a gold medal in Taiwan Athletics Open in June 2024, with a throw of 81.58 metres.

DP Manu’s failure to clear the doping test highlights the importance and caution each athlete must exercise while preparing for competitions at any level. One ban can put a complete stop on a player’s career and result in a major setback as a result of it.

This also sets a clear benchmark on the stringent rules and laws that have been set at national level so that all players get a fair and equal chance to compete and qualify for the championships. Javelin Throw has a high potential to grow in India as widely followed sport, because all it needs is to go for some infrastructural changes, where most talented players at grassroot level can come up the ranks.

The ADDP has sanctioned athletes in other sports as well, imposing ban periods ranging from two to six years. These names include women’s relay specialist Simarjeet Kaur, former junior national hammer-throw champion Nitesh Poonia, leading Greco-Roman grappler Narinder Cheema, kickboxer Ravinder Singh and female boxer Rekha.