Indian sprinter Dutee Chand tests positive for prohibitive substance, handed provisional suspension

Celebrated Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has tested positive for prohibited anabolic steroids during an out-of-competition test, resulting in her provisional suspension. 

The sample of the 26-year-old, who achieved a silver medal in both the 100m and 200m events at the 2018 Asian Games and is the current national 100m champion, has tested positive for andarine, ostarine, and ligandrol, according to a doping control notification on adverse analytical findings issued by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). 

In a letter addressed to Dutee, the AAF notification said, “I do hereby inform you that your sample A was tested at the NDTL (National Dope Testing Laboratory) in accordance with the procedure set out in WADA’s (World Anti-Doping Agency) International Standard of Laboratories and was returned adverse analytical findings as details given below.” The sample was collected out-of-competition on December 5 last year at Bhubaneswar.

The letter also warned Dutee about the potential consequences.

“I do hereby invite you to carefully read the contents of this letter which provides important information as to the potential consequences of the AAF and resulting disciplinary process,” the letter added.

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) website, these prohibited substances have the potential to be abused for performance enhancement in sports due to their anabolic properties as well as their capacity to activate androgen receptors in muscle and bone, leading to increased muscle and bone growth.

Dutee participated in the National Games in Gujarat from September to October 2022. She competed in the 200-meter dash but unfortunately did not make it to the finals. Despite this, she still managed to finish in sixth place in the 100-meter dash final.

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