19/08/2026
From catching doping to preventing it. The conversation needs to change.
The National Roundtable on Doping Prevention in Sports, jointly organised by the Centre for Sports Research and Development, IMT Ghaziabad and the Association for Sports Industry Professionals (ASIP), brought together diverse voices from across India’s sporting ecosystem to deliberate on one of the most serious challenges confronting Indian sport.
The Roundtable was jointly conceptualised by Dr. Kanishka Pandey, Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran and Mr. Neeraj Jha, with the objective of moving the anti-doping conversation beyond detection and punishment towards prevention, education and collective responsibility.
We were privileged to have Mr. Anant Kumar, Director General, NADA, deliver the Keynote Address, providing an important institutional perspective on India’s anti-doping efforts. The deliberations were further enriched by the presence and insights of Dr. P. L. Sahu, Director & CEO, National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), bringing the critical perspective of doping testing and science to the table.
The real strength of the Roundtable, however, was the diversity of voices it brought together. Our sincere gratitude to Ms. Aditi Chauhan, Ms. Bhargavi Ojale, Mr. Rajaraman G, Col. Dr. Sandipan Das Sarma, Prof. Garima Saxena, Mr. Munish Rao and representatives of different Federations and organisations for contributing their experience, perspectives and insights to the discussion.
The central message was clear:
Doping cannot be addressed merely by testing an athlete, detecting a prohibited substance and imposing a sanction. By then, in many cases, we are already too late.
We need to understand why athletes dope — performance pressures, influence of coaches and peers, misinformation around supplements and medicines, gaps in awareness, and the possibility of inadvertent violations.
Our approach therefore needs to move upstream:
From detection to prevention.
From punishment to education.
From individual responsibility to ecosystem-wide responsibility.
The Roundtable forms part of the continuing efforts of IMT Ghaziabad’s Centre for Sports Research and Development to contribute through research, education, dialogue and stakeholder engagement towards building a stronger preventive anti-doping ecosystem in India.
As India aspires to become a global sporting power, clean sport cannot remain a peripheral conversation.
Medals matter.
Performance matters.
But how we win matters just as much.
A meaningful conversation. Diverse perspectives. And hopefully, another step towards sustained collective action for a cleaner, safer and more credible sporting future for India.
