New Delhi: National Anti-Doping Agency director-general Anant Kumar has said that the incidence of athletes resorting to shortcuts by taking banned substances can be reduced if all stakeholders work with a common intent.
He called upon those in the Indian sports ecosystem to come together to create greater awareness about the importance of clean sport.
“We can be successful in reducing the incidence of doping in sports only if everyone involved works towards that,” said Kumar during a National Roundtable on Doping Prevention in Sports on Tuesday.
The roundtable featured a policy dialogue on prevention, education, ethics, systemic drivers of doping, and the accountability of athlete support personnel. Discussions also touched upon socio-economic pressures, high reward-low risk dynamics, and the risks of contaminated nutritional supplements, which often contributes to doping vulnerabilities.
Association of Sports Industry Professionals (ASIP) president Shaji Prabhakaran said the purpose of the roundtable was to complement NADA’s efforts in spreading awareness about the ill-effects of doping. “The idea was to strengthen NADA’s efforts in spreading awareness about the evils and adverse impact of doping,” said Prabhakaran.
