In May 2023 the India National Anti-Doping Agency (INADA) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete Jagath Singh Suresh Kumar for evading doping control at a competition in Delhi in March 2023.

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of India (ADDPI).

The Athlete alleged that he immediately had to leave the venue because of the illness of his mother. However the Panel deems that his explanation and his evidence does not show any emergency or a compelling justification for evading doping control.

Therefore the Panel decides on 16 October 2023 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 10 May 2023.

In February 2022 the International Cycling Union (UCI) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Belgian cyclist Toon Aerts after his A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance Letrozole.

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal (UCI-ADT).

The Athlete accepted the test results and denied the intentional use of the substance. He argued that there were sufficient grounds for a reduced sanction.

With evidence the Athlete made the following assertions:

• an expert opinion report concluded that a contaminated supplement Trisport Pharma Recup Shake Choco was the source of the positive test;
• an analysis report from an University Hospital Laboratory had detected low concentrations of Letrozole in the Athlete's supplement;
• a hair test analysis report determined only 1 incidental minute exposure of Letrozole;
• only through the contaminated supplement the Letrozole had entered his system;
• other options were excluded on how the substance had entered his system.

Hereafter 1 open package of the Athlete's supplement and 3 sealed packages of the same batch were analysed in the Cologne Laboratory in August 2022. Thereupon in September 2022 the Ghent Laboratory analysed another 2 sealed packages of the same batch.

However both laboratories reported that Letrozole had not been detected in the supplement. The same open package of the supplement, analysed in the Cologne Laboratory, had previously been analysed in the University Hospital Laboratory.

In this case the Parties both agree that the current file does not contain any element from which one can deduce that the violation was committed intentionally. Nevertheless the UCI raised the following objections:

• There is no reliable or concrete evidence that the Athlete's supplement was contaminated;
• The report of the University Hospital Laboratory is unreliable;
• The Cologne and Ghent laboratories detected no Letrozole in the supplement;
• The Cologne Laboratory is more performant than de University Hospital Laboratory and has a lower limit of detection;
• Previous collected samples tested negative in the period that the supplement had been used by the Athlete;
• No other members of the Athlete's team tested positive after using this supplement at the material time;
• The hairtest does not reveal the source of Letrozole;
• The alleged low concentration found by the University Hospital Laboratory in the Athlete's supplement is not consistent with the concentration Letrozole detected in the Athlete's sample.

The Sole Arbitrator assessed and addressed the evidence and assertions of the Parties and their expert witnesses. Ultimately the Arbitrator concludes that the Athlete has not discharged his burden of proof how, on a balance of probability, the prohibited substance had entered his system.

Therefore the UCI Anti-Doping Panel decides on 16 August 2023 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 16 February 2022.

The Athlete shall be borne:

• The UCI legal costs;
• The costs for the results management;
• The costs of the out-of-competition testing; and
• The costs of the analyses of the supplement by the Cologne Laboratory.

In April 2023 the India National Anti-Doping Agency (INADA) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the powerlifter Hariom Khari after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Trenbolone.

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of India (ADDPI).

The Panel finds that the presence of a prohibited substance has been established in the Athlete's sample and accordingly that he committed an anti-doping rule violation. The Panel determines that the Athlete fully admitted the use of the prohibited substance.

Therefore the Panel decides on 16 August 2023 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 12 April 2023.

In May 2023 the India National Anti-Doping Agency (INADA) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the powerlifter Pankaj after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance 19-norandrosterone (Nandrolone).

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of India (ADDPI).

The Panel finds that the presence of a prohibited substance has been established in the Athlete's system and accordingly that he committed an anti-doping rule violation. The Panel determines that the Athlete had admitted the use of the prohibited substance.

Therefore the Panel decides on 16 August 2023 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 10 May 2023.

In February 2023 the India National Anti-Doping Agency (INADA) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the weightlifter Akshata Basavant Kamati after her sample tested positive for the prohibited substances Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, Metandienone and Stanozolol.

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in her defence and she was heard for the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of India (ADDPI).

The Panel finds that the presence of prohibited substances have been established in the Athlete's sample and accordingly that she committed an anti-doping rule violation. The Panel considers that the Athlete merely denied the intentional use of the substance and requested for a reduced sanction.

Therefore the Panel decides on 16 August 2023 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 15 February 2023.

Related case:

SAIDS 2023-09 Tebogo Tsotetsi vs SAIDS - Appeal
December 12, 2023

In May 2023 the South African Institute for Drugfree Sport (SAIDS) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete Tebogo Tsotetsi after her sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Salbutamol.

Following notification a provisional suspension was accepted, yet thereupon she continued to participate into a Marathon. The Athlete filed a statement in her defence and was heard for the Anti-Doping Tribuanl Hearing Panel.

The Athlete admitted the violation and denied the intentional use of the substance. She explained that at the material time she had used a cough syrup for her illness while she was unaware that this product contained Salbutamol.

The Athlete acknowleged that she had been negligently with her self-medication and had not mentioned all her medication on the Doping Control Form. She asserted that she is only a recreational Athlete and had never received anti-doping education.

SAIDS accepted that the Athlete's violation was not intentional and that she had acted negligently with grounds for a reduced sanction.

In view of the evidence the Panel agrees that the Athlete's violation was not intentional. Further the Panel determines that, as a recreational Athlete, she had acted with a degree of No Significant Fault or Negligence.

Therefore the Panel decides on 15 August 2023 to impose a 20 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the decision.

In June 2022 the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the soccer player Osaze De Rosario after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Cannabis.

Following notification the Athlete gave a prompt admission, waived his right for a hearing and accepted the sanction proposed by CCES. Because the use of Cannabis occurred out-of-competition and the Athlete completed an approved Substance of Abuse treatment program he received a reduced sanction from CCES.

Therefore CCES decides on 14 August 2023 to impose a 1 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on 4 August 2023.

On 18 October 2022 the South African Institute for Drugfree Sport (SAIDS) reported an anti-doing rule violation against the South African boxer Zolani Tete after his A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance Stanozolol. The samples had been provided by the Athlete in Wembley in London on 2 July 2022 after a boxing match.

Following notification in October 2022 a provisional suspension was ordered while results management authority was referred to United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) in January 2023. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP).

The Athlete admitted the violation, accepted the test results and denied the intentional use of the substance. He assumed that contamination had caused the positive test results.

However the Athlete's attempts to find the source of the prohibited substance were unsucessful. Analysis of a supplement in question and his nail clippings in a laboratory revealed no prohibited substances.

In this case the Panel is troubled that there had been substantial delays attributed to the London Laboratory, SAIDS and UKAD. Because the Athlete was notified 3½ months after the sample collection this delay effected his opportunity to produce corroborating evidence in his defence.

Following assessment of the evidence the Panel concludes that the Athlete failed to demonstrate that the violation was not intentional, nor how the substance had entered his system. The Panel finds that there is lack of evidence in favour of the Athlete whereas the evidence is more consistent with a plausible motivation for using Stanozolol.

Considering the Athlete's conduct the Panel deems that he had acted with significant fault and negligence. Further the Panel already had determined that there had been substantial delays in this case not attributed to the Athlete.

Therefore the Panel decides on 9 August 2023 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting backdated on 30 July 2022.

In April 2023 the United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Polish boxer Kamil Sokolowski after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Testosterone and its metabolites with a T/E ratio above the WADA threshold.

Following notification the Athlete gave a prompt admission, waived his right for a hearing, accepted a provisional suspension and the sanction proposed by UKAD. The Athlete believed that a contaminated supplement was the source of the prohibited substance.

UKAD deems that the Athlete's violation was intentional and determines that he shall receive a 1 year reduction for his timely admission of the anti-doping rule violation.

Therefore UKAD decides on 7 August 2023 to impose a 3 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 21 April 2023.

Annual Report 2022 / Doping Control Agency of Thailand (DCAT). - Bangkok : DCAT, 2023