Asian Games medalist Seema Punia faces a 16-month ban for doping charges

The 42-year-old discus thrower Seema Punia, a three-time Asian Games medalist, has been handed a 16-month doping ban after failing her drug test.

Her suspension dates back to November 10 - the day her decision came out after a long hearing process for almost a year - and will continue till early 2027.

This meant that Seema will not be eligible for the next year's Asian Games, a tournament she had multiple accolades, having three medals, including a gold in 2014.

Alongside that, she has also won four medals at the Commonwealth Games, 3 Silver and a Bronze, and represented India at four Olympic Games.

Seema's Doping History

This is the third time she has been caught in such a doping case, after the 2000 World Junior Championships and before the 2006 Asian Games.

Seema was a gold medalist at the 2000 World Juniors, but then her medal was stripped off because of a positive drug test for pseudoephedrine.

After that, she received a warning from AFI, according to the rules enforced at that time. She then returned from the incident and won a bronze medal in the next edition of World Juniors in 2002.

Similarly, she tested positive for a steroid (stanozolol) in 2006, but back then National Doping Testing Laboratory (NDTL) was not recognised by WADA.

Hence, she didn't receive any sanctions from AFI and was allowed to participate in the Doha Games. However, Seema decided not to pursue that and skipped the Games.

Seema hasn't been in action at the international stage since the last Asian Games in 2023, where she won a bronze medal with the best throw of 58.62m.

But, she has been coaching fellow athletes and also helped para javelin thrower Sandeep Singh Mann ahead of this year’s Para World Championships.