Reetika Hooda, who made history as India’s top heavyweight wrestler, suspended for doping

Reetika was scheduled to leave next week for the Ranking Series tournament in Budapest, starting July 17, and later in the World Championships in September. However, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) officials said she has been asked to leave the ongoing national camp at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.

It is also learnt that the federation officials summoned the other wrestlers at the national training camp and cautioned them about indulging in career-threatening activities. “We have reminded them to stick to the supplements that are officially procured and are properly tested. We have also alerted them that there is zero tolerance for doping and it could very well end their careers,” a source said.

Along with Reetika, two other wrestlers from the same academy as hers in Rohtak, have tested positive and been provisionally suspended.

Hailing from the same academy where the Rio Olympics medallist Sakshi Malik learnt her craft, Reetika became the first from India to book a quota in the heaviest Olympic weight class for women at last year’s Paris Olympics, where she lost in the quarterfinals. In October 2023, Reetika achieved another first for the country after being crowned the Under-23 World Champion. And earlier this year, she reached the final of the Asian Championship and returned with a silver medal.

Her remarkable rise was met with awe as India was until then unrepresented in the upper-most weight categories — which has fluctuated between 72 kg and 76 kg — since women’s wrestling became an Olympic sport in 2004.

The news of her failing a dope test sent shockwaves. Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh called the incident ‘very unfortunate’. “She was among the brightest wrestlers in the country. So, this news is very unfortunate. We will see how the legal proceedings go before commenting further,” Singh told The Indian Express.

Wrestling, according to the Sports Ministry’s Annual Report for the year 2023-24 — the latest available — had third-highest dope cheats in the country among Olympic disciplines. Between April 2023 and January 2024, there were 10 positive cases in the sport, most after athletics (43) and weightlifting (33).

Last week, the International Olympic Committee, too, had flagged the rising dope cases in the country as a concern during an Indian delegation’s visit to its headquarters Lausanne, where they pitched for the 2036 Olympics.