Indian javelin thrower Shivpal Singh banned for 10 years after second doping offense

Indian javelin thrower Shivpal Singh has been handed a 10-year competition ban following a second doping violation. The ban stems from the detection of the anabolic steroid metandienone in a sample provided by Singh.

This marks the second time the 31-year-old athlete has faced doping charges. His first violation occurred in 2021 when steroids were found in an out-of-competition test. The National Anti-Doping Agency of India (NADA) initially imposed a four-year ban in 2022. However, Singh successfully argued before NADA's appeals panel that his positive test was due to contaminated dietary supplements. The panel accepted this reasoning in January 2023, reducing his ban to one year.

The latest, much longer ban is likely to signal the end of Singh's athletic career. By the time this 10-year suspension concludes, he will be over 40 years old. Singh's career highlight was winning a silver medal with a throw of 86.23 meters at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships. He also represented India at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.