Weightlifter Seema Banned For Four Years For Doping By NADA

Indian women’s weightlifter Seema, who won the silver medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Championships, has been suspended for four years for violating the anti-doping rule. National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) has informed that she has been banned for having banned substances in her sample.

NADA has said in its statement that Seema’s dope sample was taken during the 34th Women’s National Weightlifting Championship held in Visakhapatnam this year. The statement read “Presence of prohibited substances were found in her system during an ongoing Championship to enhance her performance which amounted to a clear cut case of cheating and outright violation of National Anti-Doping rules.”

The statement further clarified, “The analysis report of her sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for presence of a prohibited substance namely Hydroxy-4-methoxy Temoxifen (Metabolite of Tamoxifen), Selective Estrogen Receptor Modular (SERM) Metenolone, Anabolic Steroid Ostarine ( Enobosram), Selective Androgen Receptor Modular (SARM).”

These are all non-specified substances in World Anti Doping Agency’s (WADA) 2019 banned substances list.

Seema was slapped with a four year ban after a hearing by the NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel. Seema won a silver medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Championships and finished sixth in the women’s 75kg category at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Earlier, former Asian silver medalist boxer Sumit Sangwan was banned for a year by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing a dope test. Sangwan, who competed in the London Olympics 2012, previously played in the 91 kg category. He was supposed to play the Olympic qualifier trial, but the ban has come into force with immediate effect.

Another boxer Neeraj Phogat, who was among the probables for 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was also suspended after she tested positive for performance-enhancing drug Ligandrol and “other anabolic steroids”.

The growing number of dope cheats has become a problem for the India Olympic Association and the sports ministry. Sports minister Kiren Rijiju had also said that doping scandals in the country are “very disturbing” and India should strive to become a cleaner sporting nation not just by catching the cheats but also educating the ones who fail because of sheer ignorance.