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WADA chief Witold Banka says India has a serious doping problem but is making sincere efforts, backs Operation Upstream and urges tougher action on drug suppliers, not athletes
World Anti-Doping Agency
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Witold Banka on Thursday said that “nobody is blind” to India’s serious doping problem, but acknowledged “sincere efforts” to address it, including active participation in the INTERPOL-backed ‘Operation Upstream’ targeting global drug suppliers.
At the end of a whirlwind tour, during which he met Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) chief Anant Kumar, sports secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, and senior CBI officials, Banka said he would return home with “optimism” about India’s future.
Doping In India?
India has topped WADA‘s list of dope offenders for three consecutive years, recording the highest positivity rate among major nations. The country is scheduled to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and is aspiring to host the Olympics in 2036.
“The biggest producer of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and steroids is in India. There is a serious problem and nobody is blind to it, but at the same time, India has aspirations of hosting the World Championships of different sports and also the Olympics, which is obviously not possible without WADA compliance,” he told PTI in an interview after an elaborate press conference.
“To realise that vision, there are efforts to address this problem and I believe the efforts have been sincere. I would be taking a lot of optimism with me about what the future holds,” he said.
Speaking about ‘Operation Upstream’, which has led to 250 raids, the seizure of 90 tonnes of PEDs — approximately “1.8 billion doses” of banned drugs prevented from entering the market — and the closure of 88 illegal laboratories across 20 countries, Banka said more details would be shared in due course. INTERPOL, which became a WADA partner in 2019, has been driving the intelligence gathering that enabled this crackdown.
“Obviously we have had discussions with the CBI on this with regards to intelligence gathering and details of it cannot be shared right now because it’s an ongoing operation.
“So far as other measures are concerned, we would like NADA to address the problem with targeted testing and a strong educational programme. We expect stronger engagement and action,” he asserted.
Increased Testing Yet Not Enough
NOTHING has increased testing from about 4,000 samples in 2019 to about 8,000 in 2025, but this still remains low compared to countries like China, which test upwards of 15,000 athletes annually.
Banka stressed that increased testing and a lower positivity rate should not be mistaken for stronger anti-doping control.
“If the numbers go down drastically, I would be very suspicious. More cases is sad news for you guys but from my perspective, it implies better surveillance. This is not about numbers, this is about the process,” he said.
“In the end, we are not here to punish people. We are here to assist. We want to destroy those who are destroying athletes’ lives,” he added, referring to the crackdown on drug traffickers.
Criminalisation Of Doping
Banka has long argued that doping should be criminalised, as in his home country Poland, where he actively campaigned for such laws as Sports Minister. He reiterated that position but clarified that any legislation should focus on suppliers and enablers such as coaches and managers, rather than athletes.
“I encourage governments to criminalise doping. When you give doping to minors or to athletes who don’t know about it, then you should be held accountable,” he said, before WADA Director of Intelligence and Investigations Gunter Younger stepped in to emphasise that athletes continue to be seen as “victims”.
“Look, let’s be practical, doping can never be eliminated. You will always have individuals who want to cheat and adopt unfair means. There will be violators. What we can do is make PEDs inaccessible to athletes and Operation Upstream is a step in that direction,” Banka asserted.
“We don’t want athletes to go to jail, only the suppliers. Those people should face strong consequences,” he added.
Banka said global drug suppliers have long understood that PEDs are less risky and more profitable for them than contraband drugs like cocaine.
“Doping-related crime in trans-national. It involves multiple countries and is increasingly sophisticated because laws are not as strict as for narcotics. They can make more money by selling PEDs than Cocaine and heroin. So we are identifying the trafficking routes and making our measures more sophisticated.
“Athletes do not dope alone.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
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April 16, 2026, 3:48 PM IST
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