Champion discus thrower Kamalpreet fails dope test for stanozolol, is provisionally banned

Kamalpreet Kaur, has been provisionally suspended for failing the dope test for an anabolic steroid, TOI can confirm. Kamalpreet, the first Indian woman to breach the 65m barrier in discus throw, has been put under provisional suspension since April 1.

The 26-year-old Punjab athlete, who had finished a creditable sixth in her first Olympics outing with a best throw of 63.70m in Tokyo, has returned positive for ‘stanozolol’ – a synthetic steroid that is derived from testosterone and has anabolic and androgenic properties, it’s been learnt. This is the first time that the identity of the athlete has been revealed after TOI got the confirmation about the banned substance and Kamalpreet’s suspension period from multiple sources.

The athlete’s urine sample was collected by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in an out-of-competition testing in March in NIS Patiala. The AIU was founded by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – now known as World Athletics – in 2017.

Kamalpreet’s dope failure meant that she wouldn’t be able to compete at the World Athletics Championships in USA’s Oregon (July 15-24), Birmingham Commonwealth Games (July 28-Augusy 8) and Hangzhou Asian Games (September 10-25), apart from the Diamond Leagues and other national and international events. The current discus throw national record holder with a personal best of 66.59m is facing a ban of up to four years for her first-time doping offence.

The Indian Railways athlete wasn’t included in the national coaching camp (total of 153 days) for elite athletes, which began in multiple cities in Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Patiala from April 16 and will last till September 15. Kamalpreet’s coach, Rakhi Yadav, has also been omitted from