Asian Games: Wushu medal hopeful Surya Bhanupratap Singh suspended for doping

New Delhi: Another positive dope test has hit India's preparations for the upcoming Asian Games, with wushu medal hopeful Surya Bhanupratap Singh becoming the latest athlete to be provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

The 30-year-old from Jammu & Kashmir, a 2018 Jakarta Asian Games bronze medallist in the men's 60kg Sanda, failed an anti-doping test for Enobosarm (Ostarine), a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) designed for muscle and bone development. Ostarine is strictly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and classified under S1.2, or "other anabolic agents".

Bhanupratap has been dropped from the Asian Games squad and his name deleted from the govt-approved final contingent. Bhanupratap's case takes the number of Indian athletes failing dope tests since the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games to 12, an alarming spurt that has affected multiple disciplines and, in some cases, cost India competition quotas.

The list comprises weightlifters N Ajith (71kg), Sairaj Pardeshi (88kg), Harcharan Singh (110kg) and Vanshita Verma (77kg); judokas Arun Kumar (73kg) and Tulika Maan (+78kg); shooter Gaurav Kumar Masoori (10m air pistol); rower Lakshya (lightweight double scull); wrestlers Mukul Dahiya (86kg freestyle) and Deepanshu (130kg Greco-Roman); runner Abhishek Pal (5,000m and 10,000m) and now Bhanupratap (65kg Sanda).

The spurt in doping cases has already forced India to trim its weightlifting representation for the Asian Games. The Glasgow quota was hit by multiple violations, while only five lifters have been named for the Aichi-Nagoya multisport event - Mirabai Chanu (49kg), Gyaneshwari Yadav (53kg), Seram Nirupama Devi (61kg), Harjinder Kaur (69kg) and Rishikanta Singh (60kg).

Wrestling has also lost two Asian Games spots, shrinking from 18 to 16 after Dahiya and Deepanshu were suspended. Bhanupratap was a strong medal prospect in the men's 65kg Sanda event. He is also a two-time World Wushu Championships bronze medallist, finishing third in the 60kg category in Jakarta in 2015 and Kazan in 2017. His 2018 Asian Games bronze came in the same category.

With Bhanupratap's exclusion, India's wushu squad now comprises seven athletes. The latest case underlines the growing challenge for NADA and Indian sports authorities as they try to keep doping cheats out of Games squads.