Indian Sprinter Dutee Chand Speaks Out Over Doping Allegations

The professional Indian sprinter Dutee Chand allegedly tested positive on a doping test conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency and is provisionally suspended. As per a doping control email issued by NADA on Wednesday, there was an adverse analytical finding in her urine sample.

Chand has denied receiving any sort of notification from the anti-doping agency and even stated that she has been competing for a long time now that too at the highest level, and she has never used any banned substance ever before.

Indian Sprinter Dutee Chand On Doping Allegations

Chand stated in an interview session with the Indian Express, “I have been competing at the highest level for almost a decade now, and I have never touched or used any kind of performance-enhancing drugs ever before. I have given my samples whenever they asked for them. In the year 2014, I had to fight for my right to run due to the hyperandrogenism case and now this has come up. I’ll have to see the letter first to tell you what my next step is going to be,” she furthermore added, “I haven’t received any kind of letter from any doping agencies or federations yet. I only got to know about it through people on social media that a letter is being circulated on social media.”

Chand’s urine sample was collected by the National Anti-Doping Agency on 5th December 2022, at Bhubaneswar, which was found to have a prohibited substance known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators(SARMs) according to the email. As per the (USADA) United States Anti-Doping Agency Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators are a class of therapeutic compounds that is found to have similar anabolic properties as other anabolic steroids but with less androgenic properties.

The official website of USADA has stated that “In a medical setup, this can be very useful for stimulating specific tissue growth like some muscles and bones, while simultaneously avoiding unwanted side effects in any other tissues like the liver or the skin" it also states that, although SARMs are not legal substance for any diet supplements, yet there are supplement brands that advertise their products with the banned substance in it.

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The Athletics Federation of India has stated the situation “Then (when Chand was tested), she wasn’t present at the national camp. She already left the camp a long time ago and wasn’t training under any official coach from the Athletics Federation of India. She already moved to Odisha somewhere to train herself, and we had no idea about her whereabouts.”

The sample Chand which was tested by the Anti-doping agency was sample A, and she still has the option to ask them to test Sample B.