NEW DELHI: Nineteen of India's kabaddi players have tested positive for banned drugs during trials for next month's kabbadi World Cup, the country's anti-doping agency said on its website Friday.
The 19 positive tests were recorded among 50 samples taken ahead of the World Cup to be hosted by the northern state of Punjab from November 1-20, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) said in the statement.
"NADA has taken this alarming position very seriously," the agency said, adding it had provisionally suspended the players pending a further probe.
The game is played between two seven-member teams in which individuals take turns to chase and attempt to touch members of the opposing team without being captured.
The sport, long dominated by South Asian countries, requires the players to hold their breath as they pursue their opponents, chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi."
India have won all six kabaddi gold medals in the Asian Games since its introduction as a regular discipline at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing.
India also beat arch-rivals Pakistan to win the 2010 World Cup, a nine-team tournament held in Punjab.
Earlier this year, several Indian athletes tested positive for banned substances, leading to the sacking of Ukrainian track and field coach Yuri Ogorodnik.
COMMENTS (6)
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Worst form of cheating....I wonder why our friends from India do not bother to post their comments.God forbid had the players been from Pakistan, all hell would have been broken and Indian readers would be jumping with glee.Moral of the story is that the disease exist all across the globe and we should not target only Pakistan in the matter.Thats the sportsmanship which, sadly most of the commentators from my country lack.
thank god NADA is not covering up this menace and exposing them.
every international match is preceded by a doping test and the matches that India and pakistan played in past are also in accordance with the international protocol and mandates.
serious actions should be taken to make sports more clean
There should be olympic type doping imposed on kabaddi.I am very much doubtful they used drugs during world cup 2010 especially Mangi, the captain of indian team.They use a substance called speed in their native circle
nd where are my indian friends, gloating over the wrongdoings of Pakistani Players. Just think about it if any Paki was involved in doping.
very sad, playerz like to be more energetic...
And they still lost to pakistan in south asian beach games shame on them