Over the last three years, Indian sports have acquired a notorious reputation across the entire world. For three successive years, India has recorded the highest number of doping offences globally. The number of positive cases for athletes using banned substances and performance-enhancing drugs has reached alarming proportions.
According to the annual reports released by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in 2024, India recorded 260 positive dope tests out of 7,113 samples tested. The positivity percentage for India is, therefore, 3.66. This figure is more than double that of any other nation. Norway was second, with 1.75 per cent positive cases, and the USA was third with 1.15.
To break up India’s tally of positive tests into different sports, the maximum number of offenders (76) came from track and field athletics, 43 from weightlifting, 29 from wrestling and 17 from boxing – the maximum number of positive tests in these sports. Other sports also contributed to the final tally.
The WADA report came a few months after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed concern about the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs in India, and urged the Indian sports administrators to take the matter seriously to set their house in order.
The Indian Parliament recently passed the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2025, incorporating the changes recommended by WADA to bring the Indian anti-doping system up to the mark with global standards.
Government is worried
There is every reason for the government to be worried, since it has plans to host the Olympic Games in 2036, and if India continues to top the charts in cheating, it will be a huge setback to the nation’s bid to conduct the games.
The IOC and WADA take doping very seriously, especially when it comes to awarding hosting rights. The IOC evaluates not just stadiums and infrastructure, but also a country’s sports governance, integrity systems and anti-doping enforcement before choosing a host city for each edition of the Olympics.
According to reports, the IOC has flagged concerns specifically about India’s poor doping record during early discussions related to the 2036 bid, thereby indicating that the issue could impact their final decision. The international media and its expert commentators have explicitly argued that India’s status at the top of global doping lists threatens to impact India’s ambitious bid for the 2036 Olympics.
India’s cleaning up efforts
In a bid to check this rampant fraud, India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has been increasing the number of tests and tightening procedures. This partly explains why more violations are being recorded in the last few years. Several leading sportsmen have also called for stronger anti-doping measures and better systems, including proposals for indigenous testing kits and expanded capacity.
These steps are aimed at demonstrating to international bodies that India is serious about cleaning up its sports system. If India can credibly show improved anti-doping enforcement, transparency and results, the IOC may view the situation as an issue that can be fixed rather than a reason for automatic disqualification.
However, if the negative trend continues with high violation rates and weak administrative responses, India can risk being seen as a reputational and ethical concern. It would be something that the IOC would weigh seriously before granting hosting rights for such a major global event like the Olympic Games.
Other countries also want to host
Other countries are also in the bidding process. Egypt has expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics in a multi-million dollar sports complex called the Egypt International Olympic City, which is located 45 kilometres east of Cairo. The project features a 93,940-seater stadium, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts and two indoor venues.
Other nations that have expressed interest are South Korea (in Seoul), Saudi Arabia (in Riyadh), Turkey (in Istanbul) and Hungary (in Budapest). So, there is going to be stiff competition. India’s sports administrators and the Indian government should take nothing lightly and spare no effort to clean up Indian sports. The sooner this is done the better.
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