Indian Hammer Thrower Rachna Kumari fails dope test

Indian hammer thrower Rachna Kumari has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for banned substances in a dope test conducted by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

The 30-year-old athlete's out-of-competition sample revealed the presence of steroids Stanozolol, Methandienone, and Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT).

The AIU issued a notice of allegation to Kumari, as confirmed on their official website, though specific details were not disclosed. When contacted Kumari stated that she had provided urine samples to officials of a foreign dope testing agency in Patiala on September 24.

"I have not received any information that I have failed the dope test," she told PTI from her home in Uttar Pradesh.

An official from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) acknowledged Kumari's failed test but refrained from providing further details, citing the jurisdiction of the AIU over the case. "It is not a NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) case but of AIU, so I don't know the details," the official stated.

If found guilty, Kumari could face a maximum suspension of four years. She was a part of the 68-member Indian athletics team that participated in the Hangzhou Asian Games held from September 23 to October 8.

Kumari secured the ninth position in the women's hammer throw event with a distance of 58.13m on September 29. Notably, she had clinched gold in the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar in June with an impressive throw of 65.03m.

However, Kumari has yet to secure an international medal in her career.