NADA Provisionally Suspends Sprinter Hima Das for Whereabouts Failure

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has provisionally suspended the Indian sprinter, Hima Das on account of three whereabouts failures within a span of 12 months.

Any combination of three whereabouts failures, i.e., filing failure and/ or missed test over the course of a year amounts to an anti-doping rule violation as per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations. Here, filing failure refers to the situation where the athletes do not submit the required quarterly report detailing their whereabouts. A missed test is when the athlete fails to show up for the drug test within the timeframe specified in their whereabouts file.

An athlete is required to share details such as their name, entire address, and times of each location where they train, work, or participate in other regularly scheduled activities to be included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP). Such athletes are expected to select a window of 60 minutes and a place for testing each day of the quarter.

The penalty applicable for the said anti-doping rule violation is two years of ineligibility. Based on the degree of the athlete’s fault, the penalty could be reduced to one year. Provisional suspension is meted out only when the response sought from the athlete at the end of the third quarter is found unsatisfactory. Athletes are offered the opportunity to accept a Provisional Suspension voluntarily, pending the resolution of the matter. If an athlete wishes to exercise their right to a hearing before the Disciplinary Tribunal, a written request must be submitted within 10 days of receiving notice. The hearing shall be completed within 60 days of the date of notification of the athlete’s request.

The sprinter was not named to be a part of the ongoing Asian Games being held in Hangzhou, China, owing to an injury sustained earlier this year.