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WADA chief Witold Banka praises India’s anti doping push but warns challenges remain, urges more testing and education as India eyes 2030 CWG and 2036 Olympic bid.
World Anti-Doping Agency
World anti-doping chief Witold Banka on Thursday underscored growing confidence in India’s efforts to tackle doping, pointing to strong government intent and alignment with long-term sporting ambitions.
His remarks came at the end of a packed India visit during which he met key stakeholders, including Sports Minister Mansukh MandaviyaNational Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) chief Anant Kumar, and senior officials from investigative agencies. It’s an important time for India’s sporting future as the country is positioning itself as a major host of global events, including the 2030 Commonwealth Games and a potential 2036 Olympics bid.
Banka has been reviewing measures to strengthen compliance with global standards set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He indicated that while challenges remain significant, there is a clear policy push and institutional will to address them.
“Well, I had a very positive meeting in India with the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport, with the Secretary of State, with NADA representatives and the laboratory. No one is blind to the problem. We all see the problem with doping in India and there is a willingness, especially from the government side, to address this issue, to strengthen the anti-doping system. India is very ambitious when it comes to organizing the sporting events and future plans,” Banka told PTI.
“I’ve heard Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi’s vision for the future, including the role of sport. And to make this vision come true, it has to be done through a strong anti-doping policy. So there is a common understanding, no doubts. And I believe and I hope, that the system is going to be strengthened,” he said.
India has topped the WADA list for doping violations for three consecutive years, underlining the seriousness of the issue. Banka did not shy away from calling it out.
“We know that there is the biggest production in the world of performance-enhancing drugs in India. So I had a very constructive meeting with the director general of CBI. They declared their willingness to act. I believe that through joining forces, we can address this issue from our perspective,” he said.
A key pillar of the crackdown has been ‘Operation Upstream’, led in collaboration with INTERPOL. The operation has already resulted in 250 raids, seizure of 90 tonnes of banned substances, equivalent to 1.8 billion doses, and the closure of 88 illegal labs across 20 countries.
How can India ramp up anti-doping efforts?
Banka also urged India’s NADA to expand targeted testing and education programmes. While testing numbers have doubled in recent years, they still lag behind global benchmarks.
“It will take years. It’s not like we will improve the situation immediately. We are looking at the problem from the compliance perspective. We expect bigger education programs, more sophisticated intelligence investigation actions, bigger number of tests. You are the biggest population in the world, so together with these plans, with these visions, there is a need to accelerate in many areas,” he said.
Banka cautioned against misreading statistics. “If the numbers go down drastically, I would be very suspicious… This is not about numbers, this is about the process.”
Reiterating his long-held stance, he backed criminalising doping, targeting suppliers rather than athletes. “We don’t want athletes to go to jail, only the suppliers. Those people should face strong consequences,” he said, emphasising that athletes are often victims in a complex, transnational network driven by profit.
April 16, 2026, 10:14 PM IST
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