Discus thrower Seema Punia has been banned for 16 months after failing a dope test. The 42-year-old athlete had won gold for India at the Asian Games. Her suspension has been effective since November 10. In the latest list published by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), her name appears, though the specific substance involved has not been disclosed.
Punia had faced doping allegations twice before one incident occurred at the junior level when she was just 17. She last competed for India in October 2023, winning bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. She has also won four Commonwealth Games medals. However, she has not represented India since the Asian Games and failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, after which she expressed her intention to retire.
She competed in the discus event for India at the 2004, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympics, and won gold at the 2014 Asian Games. Her longest discus throw was 64.48 meters in 2004. She also won bronze at the 2002 Junior World Championships. Earlier this year, she worked as the coach of para-javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary, who won silver at the Para Athletics Championships.
Besides Punia, several other athletes such as Pooja Yadav, Manjeet Kumar, and Kuldeep Singh have recently been banned for doping violations.
