For an unwelcome third consecutive year, India has secured the top spot on the global list for the highest number of doping violations. The latest annual report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2024 reveals a stark picture, with 260 Indian athletes testing positive for prohibited substances.
A Dubious Hat-Trick in Global Sports
The data, published late on Tuesday, December 17, 2025, shows that India's tally of dope offenders far outstrips that of any other nation. No other country recorded violations in triple digits. The samples were collected by India's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), which conducted 7,113 urine and blood tests throughout the year. This results in a positivity rate of approximately 3.6 percent, which remains among the highest in the world.
The scale of the problem becomes clearer when compared to other major sporting nations. China, which conducted a massive 24,214 tests, reported only 43 positive cases. Other countries with more rigorous testing regimes than India include Germany (15,081 tests; 54 positives), France (11,744 tests; 91 positives), Russia (10,514 tests; 76 positives), Italy (9,304 tests; 85 positives), and the United Kingdom (8,273 tests; 30 positives).
Sport-Wise Breakdown and a Disturbing Trend
The WADA report provides a detailed breakdown of which sports in India are most affected by doping. The findings are alarming for the country's athletic foundations.
- Athletics (Track & Field): 76 cases
- Weightlifting: 43 cases
- Wrestling: 29 cases
- Boxing: 17 cases
- Powerlifting: 17 cases
- Kabaddi: 10 cases
This marks a worrying year-on-year increase, as 213 athletes tested positive in 2023. The trend undermines the credibility of athletic achievements and points to a deep-rooted issue. The crisis was visibly evident at events like the Khelo India University Games, where athletes in events such as the women's 400m and men's 400m hurdles reportedly fled the arena, leaving just one competitor at the start line, allegedly due to the presence of anti-doping officials.
NADA's Response and the 2036 Olympic Shadow
In response to the damning report, NADA issued a statement arguing that the high number of positives is a "direct outcome of India’s intensified anti-doping efforts." The agency highlighted a strengthening framework, increased testing, and a greater emphasis on education and awareness. They noted that testing has risen from 4,004 samples in 2019 to 7,113 in 2024, and the positivity rate has fallen from 5.6% to 3.6% in that period. For 2025, as of December 16, 7,068 tests have yielded 110 positive cases, a rate of 1.5%.
However, this data casts a long shadow over India's sporting ambitions. The WADA report comes just months after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) explicitly raised the doping issue with a high-level Indian delegation. The delegation, which included Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, IOA President PT Usha, and senior officials, was in Lausanne to pitch for India to host the 2036 Olympic Games. The IOC flagged the doping menace and urged Indian authorities to put their house in order, making clear that this challenge is now central to the nation's global sporting reputation and aspirations.
