Now, a member of Indian football team tests positive

After the sensational Sunita Rani doping scandal, another shocking incident of an Indian sportsman testing positive for using banned drugs has come to light. A member of the Indian football team, Arun Malhotra had tested positive at the SAI laboratory before leaving for the Busan Asian Games held last month.

The All India Football Federation in a press release on Saturday announced a 60-day ban on Malhotra who had tested positive during the doping test. According to the AIFF, “Malhotra has been banned for testing positive for a banned substance on the eve of Indian team’s departure for the Asian Games.” However, sources add that the footballer’s test samples had actually shown the presence of nandralone — the steroids that were also found in Sunita Rani’s samples — but he had escaped with an easy penalty because the offence “was for the first time” and the intake of “nandralone was not intentional”. AIFF secretary Albert Colaco refused to comment on the issue, saying “it is the decision of the disciplinary committee”. The chairman of the disciplinary committee Hardeb Jadeja was unavailable for comments.