WPAC 2025: India likely to lose two medals as visually impaired runner’s guide provisionally suspended for doping
A guide saunters into trouble after the National Anti‑Doping Authority (NADA) suspended him on Friday. Umar Saifi, who ran beside India’s para‑athlete Simran Sharma during the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone before the event that ran from 27 Sept to 5 Oct.
Saifi helped Sharma win gold in the women’s 100 m and silver in the 200 m – both in the T12 class for athletes with moderate visual impairment. Because a guide and athlete compete as one team, the suspension puts Sharma’s two medals at risk. If the medals are stripped, India’s total of 22 medals from the championships would drop and the country’s standing on the medals table would suffer.
The investigation raised a key question: how did Saifi, who is a national‑level under‑23 athlete, compete when he had already failed a doping test?
The NADA move came just a day before the government was set to host a congratulatory ceremony for the medallists. Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya had planned to honour the athletes on Saturday at the Dhyanchand National Stadium. However, the event was converted into a closed‑door gathering, and the media were not allowed to cover it.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) later confirmed that a list of other doping offenders was handed to the Sports Ministry. A senior official of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) suggested that any athlete on the list be excluded from the felicitation ceremony.
The World Para Athletics Championships showcased India’s growing strength in para sports, but the drostanolone case reminds officials that clean competition remains a top priority.
Source: ianslive
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