On 5 April 2023 the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of India (ADDPI) decided to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the football player Viknesh after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Terbutaline.
Hereafter the Athlete appealed the ADDPI decision with the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel of India (ADAPI). He requested the Appeal Panel to set aside the Appealed Decision and to impose a reduced sanction.
The Athlete accepted the test result and denied the intentional use of the substance. He explained that he had used a prescribed cough syrup while he was unaware that it contained Terbutaline.
The Appeal Panel confirms that the Athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation and could not demonstrate how the substance had entered his system. He failed to apply for a TUE, nor mentioned his medication on the Doping Control Form.
The Appeal Panel deems that he acted negligently and could not establish with evidence that the medication he had used contained Terbutaline. Considering a provisional suspension had not been accepted by the Athlete the Panel modifies the starting date of the sanction.
Therefore the ADAPI Panel decides on 2 December 2023 to uphold the Appealed Decision and to set the starting date of the sanction on the date of the decision, i.e. on 5 April 2023.
