India records highest number of failed dope tests in 2022
India is the only country to have more than 100 positive test results among the nations that tested over 2000 samples.
Representative Photograph
India registered the highest percentage of failed dope tests among countries that tested more than 2000 samples as per the 2022 Testing Figures Report released by the World Anti-Doping Agency on Wednesday.
India tested a total of 3865 samples (urine and blood combined) during the period and 125 of them returned with adverse analytical findings amounting to 3.2 percent of the samples.
In terms of the number of samples tested, India was 11th on the list but the number of doping violations was higher than major sporting nations like Russia (85), the USA (84), Italy (73), and France (72).
Earlier this year, a NADA report revealed a sharp rise in doping cases from 2021-22 cycle (39) to 2022-23 (142) with athletics topping the AAF charts. While 49 athletics samples returned a positive test report, weightlifting was next (22) followed by wrestling (17).
"WADA's Annual Testing Figures Report is the most comprehensive overview of all doping control samples," WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said in a statement.
"WADA is pleased to note that the number of anti-doping tests in the testing figures continue to increase across the board and are the closest to the pre-pandemic levels (2019).
"The Testing Figures Report is an important tool for collaboration between Anti-Doping Organisations," he added.
South Africa returned the next highest percentage of adverse findings -- 2.9 percent from 2033 tested samples. The third place was taken by Kazakhstan with 1.9 percent of its testing pool of 2174 samples returning adverse findings.
The fourth highest percentage came from Norway and the USA. While the USA tested 6782 samples, Norway's count was 2075.
China tested the highest number of samples -- 19,228 -- during the period with an adverse findings percentage of 0.2 percent. Germany tested 13,653 samples of which 0.3 per cent tested positive for banned substances.
Russia, which has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee for repeated doping violations, tested 10,186 samples with an adverse analytical finding percentage of 0.8 percent.