Anti-doping: NADA and the WADA Code

In short

Anti-doping is the system of rules, testing and education that keeps competitive sport free of performance-enhancing substances and methods. The World Anti-Doping Code of WADA is the single global rulebook, and in India it is implemented by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) under the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022, with testing done by the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL). India has for years been among the top countries by number of anti-doping rule violations, so the subject is a compulsory unit in B.P.Ed, M.P.Ed, B.Sc Sports Science and NIS Patiala coaching diplomas. It is examined in university papers on sports management and sports medicine, and is asked in interviews for coach, physical education teacher, strength and conditioning, sports physiotherapy, SAI/NADA and school sports-administration roles, where a coach's duty of care and strict liability are live professional issues.

Explained

Doping: definition, history and why it is banned

• Doping is defined by the WADA Code as the occurrence of one or more of the anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) listed in the Code - note it is defined by violations, not by "taking a drug".
• Historical landmarks: deaths of cyclist Knud Jensen (Rome 1960) and Tom Simpson (1967); Ben Johnson's stripped 100 m gold (Seoul 1988); the Festina affair (1998) which triggered the World Conference on Doping in Sport, Lausanne 1999 and the creation of WADA (10 November 1999, headquarters Montreal).
• UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport (2005) is the legal instrument by which governments, including India, give effect to the Code; a government cannot sign the Code itself, so it ratifies the Convention.
• Three grounds for banning a substance or method - a substance goes on the Prohibited List if it meets any two of three criteria: (1) potential to enhance performance, (2) actual or potential health risk, (3) violation of the spirit of sport. A substance that masks the use of a prohibited substance is also included.
• Spirit of sport - the Code's ethical core: health, ethics, fair play, honesty, respect for rules, character, courage, community and solidarity, fun and joy.

The World Anti-Doping Code and its structure

• The Code is the core document; the first edition took effect in 2004, with revisions in 2009, 2015 and the 2021 Code. A further revised Code approved at the 2025 World Conference in Busan is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027, so quote the 2021 Code as current and name the next edition as upcoming.
• International Standards are mandatory technical documents under the Code. Learn these names:
  1. Prohibited List (International Standard for the Prohibited List) - revised at least annually, published around 1 October, in force 1 January.
  2. ISTI - International Standard for Testing and Investigations.
  3. ISTUE - International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions.
  4. ISL - International Standard for Laboratories.
  5. ISPPPI - International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information.
  6. ISCCS - International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories.
  7. ISE - International Standard for Education (added with the 2021 Code).
  8. ISRM - International Standard for Results Management (added with the 2021 Code).
• Signatories include the IOC, IPC, International Federations, National Olympic Committees, NADOs and major event organisers. Technical Documents (for example on decision limits, or the Athlete Biological Passport) sit below the Standards.
• Non-compliance of a NADO or federation can lead to loss of funding, loss of the right to host events and the flag not being flown - India's NDTL was suspended from 2019 to 2021 for failing ISL requirements, which forced samples to be sent abroad.

The eleven anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs)

Memorise all eleven; a one-mark question usually asks for the count, a long question for the list.

1. Presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete's sample.
2. Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or method.
3. Evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection.
4. Whereabouts failures - any three missed tests and/or filing failures in a 12-month period.
5. Tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control.
6. Possession of a prohibited substance or method.
7. Trafficking or attempted trafficking.
8. Administration or attempted administration to an athlete.
9. Complicity - assisting, encouraging, covering up or any other intentional complicity.
10. Prohibited association - working with a coach or support person who is serving a sanction.
11. Acts to discourage or retaliate against reporting (added in the 2021 Code, protecting whistle-blowers).
12. Strict liability applies to violation 1: the athlete is responsible for what is in the sample, whether or not intent, fault, negligence or knowing use can be shown. Intent matters only for the length of the sanction, not for the finding itself.

The Prohibited List: classes of substances and methods

• Prohibited at all times (in and out of competition) - classes S0 to S5 and methods M1 to M3:
  • S0 Non-approved substances - any pharmacological substance with no current approval for human therapeutic use.
  • S1 Anabolic agents - anabolic androgenic steroids (testosterone, nandrolone, stanozolol) and other anabolic agents (clenbuterol, SARMs such as ostarine). The commonest ADRV class in India.
  • S2 Peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics - EPO and agents affecting erythropoiesis, hGH, IGF-1, chorionic gonadotrophin (in males).
  • S3 Beta-2 agonists - all prohibited except inhaled salbutamol, formoterol, salmeterol and vilanterol within stated dose limits.
  • S4 Hormone and metabolic modulators - aromatase inhibitors, SERMs (tamoxifen), meldonium, insulins.
  • S5 Diuretics and masking agents - furosemide, probenecid, desmopressin, plasma expanders.
  • M1 Manipulation of blood and blood components - blood doping, autologous or homologous transfusion, artificial oxygen carriers.
  • M2 Chemical and physical manipulation - sample tampering, catheterisation, intravenous infusions of more than 100 mL per 12 hours unless legitimately received in hospital care or by TUE.
  • M3 Gene and cell doping - gene editing, gene silencing, use of normal or genetically modified cells.
• Prohibited in competition only - S6 Stimulants (cocaine, amphetamine, modafinil; specified stimulants such as pseudoephedrine above a threshold), S7 Narcotics (morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone), S8 Cannabinoids (cannabis, THC; cannabidiol/CBD is not prohibited), S9 Glucocorticoids (all injectable, oral, rectal routes banned in competition, with washout periods).
• Prohibited in particular sports - P1 Beta-blockers, banned in archery, shooting, darts, golf, billiards, some skiing and underwater sports; banned out of competition too in archery and shooting.
• Key definitions: Specified substances/methods - more likely to have a non-doping explanation, so more flexible sanctioning. Substances of abuse - cocaine, heroin, MDMA, THC; if used out of competition and unrelated to performance, a sanction of three months, reduced to one month with an approved treatment programme. Threshold substances - prohibited only above a concentration. Monitoring Programme - substances not prohibited but watched for patterns of misuse (for example caffeine, nicotine, telmisartan).

Doping control: the step-by-step process

1. Test distribution plan - the NADO plans intelligent, risk-based testing by sport, discipline and substance; testing may be in-competition or out-of-competition, and must include no-advance-notice tests.
2. Athlete selection - by random draw, by finishing position, or targeted on intelligence; the athlete is notified in writing of rights and responsibilities and signs the notification.
3. Reporting - the athlete must report immediately to the doping control station; a chaperone keeps him or her in continuous observation from notification to sample collection. One representative and an interpreter may accompany.
4. Choice of kit - the athlete chooses a sealed collection vessel from several, checks it for damage, and retains control of the sample throughout.
5. Provision of urine - minimum 90 mL for a full analysis (partial sample procedure if less, sealed and combined later); the Doping Control Officer of the same gender witnesses the passing of urine directly.
6. Splitting and sealing - the athlete divides the urine into the A bottle (at least 60 mL) and B bottle (at least 30 mL), seals both, and checks the code numbers; residue is used to measure specific gravity - a suitable sample needs 1.005 or higher measured by refractometer (or 1.010 or higher measured with lab sticks), otherwise further samples are collected.
7. Documentation - the doping control form records the kit code, medicines and supplements taken in the past seven days, consent for research use, and any irregularity the athlete wishes to record; the athlete receives a copy. Blood samples follow the ISTI with a seated rest period (10 minutes for ABP) and a trained phlebotomist.
8. Chain of custody and transport - samples travel in sealed, tamper-evident containers to a WADA-accredited laboratory; the lab never receives the athlete's name, only the code - blind analysis.
9. A-sample analysis and results management - an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) is reported; the Results Management Authority checks for a valid TUE or an apparent departure from a Standard, then issues a Notice of Charge.
10. Provisional suspension - mandatory for a non-specified substance; optional for a specified substance. The athlete may request the B-sample analysis and may attend or send a representative; if the B does not confirm the A, the case is closed.
11. Hearing - before a first-instance panel, with the athlete's right to be heard, to counsel, to an interpreter and to evidence; then an appeal.
12. ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System) is WADA's web database for whereabouts, TUEs, test results and sanctions.
13. Registered Testing Pool (RTP) athletes file quarterly whereabouts, including an overnight address, training locations and a 60-minute time slot each day between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. in which they are available for testing. A filing failure plus missed test combination of any three in 12 months is an ADRV.
14. Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) - longitudinal monitoring of haematological (haemoglobin, reticulocytes, OFF-score, ABPS) and steroidal markers, interpreted by an adaptive statistical model; it detects doping by the body's own profile rather than by finding the drug.

Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)

• A TUE permits an athlete with a genuine medical condition to use a prohibited substance or method. Four conditions under the ISTUE, all of which must be satisfied:
  1. the substance is needed to treat a diagnosed medical condition with sufficient clinical evidence;
  2. it will produce no additional performance enhancement beyond a return to normal health;
  3. there is no reasonable permitted therapeutic alternative;
  4. the need is not a consequence of prior use of a prohibited substance without a TUE.
• Apply in advance, normally at least 30 days before the need (except emergencies or acute treatment); international-level athletes apply to their International Federation, national-level athletes to NADA India; a retroactive TUE is allowed for emergency or acute treatment, limited availability of an advance application, or where permitted by rules.
• A TUE Committee of independent physicians decides; decisions are recorded in ADAMS and are subject to mutual recognition and review by WADA.
• Common genuine cases: insulin for type 1 diabetes, glucocorticoid injection, methylphenidate for ADHD, some asthma treatments above dose limits.

NADA, the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 and the Indian set-up

• NADA India was set up in 2005 as a registered society under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; it adopted its own Anti-Doping Rules in line with the Code and conducts testing, results management, TUEs and education.
• National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 (assented 12 August 2022) gives NADA statutory status and creates a statutory framework; its key features:
  • a National Anti-Doping Agency headed by a Director General appointed by the Central Government, as the body responsible for implementing the anti-doping rules;
  • a National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to oversee NADA's activities and issue directions, and compliance of sports organisations;
  • the National Dope Testing Laboratory as the principal national laboratory, with power to recognise other laboratories;
  • Disciplinary Panel and Appeal Panel for results management and appeals, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Lausanne as the final appeal for international-level athletes and WADA;
  • prohibition of doping in sport, with consequences including disqualification, forfeiture of medals, points and prizes, ineligibility, and financial consequences;
  • obligations for athletes, athlete support personnel and national sports federations; the Act expressly protects the autonomy of sports bodies as required by the Code.
  • Its provisions were brought into force in stages by notification; quote the Act and its structure rather than claiming a single commencement date for every section.
• NDTL, New Delhi - WADA-accredited laboratory (accreditation suspended August 2019, restored 2021); NADA also runs dope-free sport education, the NADA app and the "Know Your Medicine" style checks.
• Other Indian pieces: SAI (Sports Authority of India) and the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 framework for federations; Fit India and Khelo India programmes require anti-doping education; the NADA Anti-Doping Rules are the enforceable Indian text, updated with each Code edition.
• India's ADRV numbers have repeatedly been the highest or second-highest in WADA's annual report (often 100 to 150 plus violations a year); the dominant causes are anabolic steroids and contaminated or deliberately spiked nutritional supplements, concentrated in weightlifting, athletics, wrestling and powerlifting.

Sanctions, education and the role of the coach

• Standard period of ineligibility for presence/use/possession of a non-specified substance: four years if intentional (or if the athlete cannot show it was unintentional); two years if the athlete establishes it was not intentional.
• For a specified substance or method, or a contaminated product: two years down to a reprimand, depending on the degree of fault.
• Reductions and increases: no fault or negligence - elimination of the period; no significant fault or negligence - reduction; prompt admission, substantial assistance (up to three-quarters suspended) and an early admission with an agreed sanction can reduce it; aggravating circumstances can add up to two years. Multiple violations and violations involving minors or protected persons are treated differently.
• Consequences beyond ineligibility: automatic disqualification of the result in the competition concerned, forfeiture of medals, points and prizes, possible disqualification of all results after sample collection, team consequences, public disclosure, loss of government awards and employment in sport, and loss of funding.
• During ineligibility an athlete may not participate in any capacity in competition or activity authorised by a signatory, nor train with a team at a member club beyond the last two months of the period.
• Athlete support personnel duties - coaches, trainers, physiotherapists, doctors, managers and parents must know and comply with the rules, cooperate with the testing programme, use no prohibited substance themselves without justification, and avoid prohibited association. A coach who supplies or encourages doping commits administration, trafficking or complicity, with sanctions up to lifetime ineligibility.
• Education (ISE) - every signatory must have an education plan; values-based education should reach the athlete before the first test (the "first experience with doping control should be preceded by education"), covering the Prohibited List, risks of supplements, TUEs, rights and responsibilities, consequences and speaking up.
• Supplement risk - supplements are not pre-approved in India; studies abroad have found 10 to 15% of tested supplements contaminated with prohibited substances. Strict liability means the athlete carries the risk, so the correct advice is food first, batch-tested products only, and check every medicine against the current Prohibited List using the NADA app or Global DRO.

Key points

• WADA - World Anti-Doping Agency, founded 10 November 1999, Montreal; equal representation of the Olympic Movement and governments.
• UNESCO Convention 2005 - the treaty through which India and other governments commit to the Code.
• WADA Code - the global rulebook; editions 2004, 2009, 2015, 2021, with the next edition due 1 January 2027.
• Eight International Standards - Prohibited List, ISTI, ISTUE, ISL, ISPPPI, ISCCS, ISE, ISRM.
• Prohibited List - revised at least yearly, published about 1 October, effective 1 January.
• Two of three criteria - performance enhancement, health risk, violation of the spirit of sport; masking agents also included.
• Eleven ADRVs - presence, use/attempted use, evading or refusing, whereabouts failures, tampering, possession, trafficking, administration, complicity, prohibited association, retaliation against reporting.
• Strict liability - the athlete is responsible for the sample's contents regardless of intent; intent affects only the sanction length.
• Classes - S0-S5 and M1-M3 banned at all times; S6-S9 in competition only; P1 beta-blockers in named sports.
• Urine sample - minimum 90 mL, split as 60 mL A and 30 mL B, specific gravity about 1.005 or higher.
• B-sample - the athlete's right to have the confirmation analysis done, attended by the athlete or a representative.
• Whereabouts - RTP athletes file quarterly with a daily 60-minute slot; three failures in 12 months is an ADRV.
• ABP - athlete biological passport; longitudinal blood and steroid profiling detects doping without finding the drug.
• TUE - four ISTUE conditions, applied for normally 30 days in advance, retroactive only in defined situations.
• Sanction - four years for an intentional non-specified substance, two years if unintentional; reprimand to two years for specified or contaminated products.
• NADA India - 2005 society, now statutory under the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022; NDTL is the national laboratory; appeals go to the National Anti-Doping Appeal Panel and then CAS.
• India's record - consistently among the world's highest ADRV counts, mainly anabolic steroids and contaminated supplements.
• Substances of abuse - three months out-of-competition recreational use, reduced to one month with treatment.

Formulas and examples

• Example 1 - partial sample. An athlete after a marathon can pass only 45 mL. Procedure: the 45 mL is sealed as partial sample 1; after rehydration he or she passes 30 mL (partial 2) and then 20 mL (partial 3). Total = 45 + 30 + 20 = 95 mL ≥ 90 mL, so the partials are combined and split: A bottle 60 mL, B bottle 95 − 60 = 35 mL (≥ 30 mL, acceptable). The doping control form records all three partial kit numbers.

• Example 2 - OFF-score for the ABP. Athlete's haemoglobin = 162 g/L, reticulocytes = 0.35%.
  • √0.35 = 0.5916.
  • 60 × 0.5916 = 35.50.
  • OFF-score = 162 − 35.50 = 126.5.
  • After an altitude camp the next test gives Hb 155 g/L and retic 1.60%: √1.60 = 1.2649, 60 × 1.2649 = 75.90, OFF-score = 155 − 75.90 = 79.1. A fall of about 47 units is a large intra-individual swing; the ABP model compares it with the athlete's own adaptive limits before an expert panel decides whether it is "likely doping", "suspicious" or "normal".

• Example 3 - sanction arithmetic with credit for provisional suspension. A national-level wrestler's A-sample on 10 March 2026 shows stanozolol (S1, non-specified). Provisional suspension imposed 1 April 2026; the athlete cannot establish lack of intent, so the panel on 1 December 2026 imposes four years.
  • Period = 4 years = 1,461 days (2028 is a leap year).
  • Credit is given for the provisional suspension already served, so ineligibility runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2030.
  • Consequences: the result of the 10 March 2026 competition is disqualified and the medal forfeited; all results from 10 March 2026 to 1 April 2026 may also be disqualified.
  • Had the athlete established it was unintentional, the period would have been 2 years, ending 31 March 2028.

• Example 4 - whereabouts failures. An RTP athlete records a filing failure on 5 January 2026, a missed test on 20 June 2026 and a missed test on 2 December 2026. Three failures within 12 consecutive months (5 January to 2 December 2026 is 11 months), so this is ADRV number 4, with a period of ineligibility of two years, reducible to a minimum of one year according to the degree of fault. Had the first failure fallen outside the 12-month window - say 5 January 2025 - only two would count and no ADRV would arise.

• Example 5 - cost of a state testing programme. A state association plans 150 out-of-competition tests: NDTL analysis ₹7,500 per sample (indicative; NADA's published fee schedule governs), DCO and chaperone fee ₹2,000, kit and courier ₹1,500.
  • Cost per test = 7,500 + 2,000 + 1,500 = ₹11,000.
  • Total = 150 × 11,000 = ₹16,50,000.
  • If 20 of the 150 need an ABP blood passport panel at an extra ₹4,000: added cost = 20 × 4,000 = ₹80,000 → total ₹17,30,000.

Where it is used

• Coaching and training roles - SAI and NIS-certified coaches, Khelo India Academy and state academy coaches must deliver anti-doping education, vet athletes' supplements and avoid prohibited association; it is tested in NIS diploma and SAI coach recruitment.
• Physical education teachers and school sports - CBSE, state board and Khelo India school competitions require awareness sessions; PE teachers counsel adolescent athletes against steroid use in gyms, a widespread problem in Indian towns.
• NADA, NDTL and federation administration - Doping Control Officers, chaperones, results management and TUE Committee support, education officers; NADA periodically trains and empanels DCOs.
• Sports medicine and physiotherapy - prescribing within the Prohibited List, preparing TUE dossiers, advising on glucocorticoid washout periods; hospital sports-medicine departments and IPL/ISL team doctors.
• Fitness industry and nutrition - gyms, strength and conditioning coaches and supplement retailers; FSSAI regulates health supplements, but FSSAI approval does not mean a product is free of WADA-prohibited substances.
• Event organisation - organising committees of National Games, university (AIU/Khelo India University Games) and federation championships must provide a doping control station, chaperones and a notification system.

Interview questions

• Q: What is doping under the WADA Code? A: It is the occurrence of one or more of the eleven anti-doping rule violations set out in the Code - the definition is based on violations, not merely on taking a drug.
• Q: On what criteria is a substance added to the Prohibited List? A: It must meet any two of three - potential to enhance performance, actual or potential health risk, violation of the spirit of sport; masking agents are included separately.
• Q: What does strict liability mean for an athlete? A: The athlete is responsible for whatever is found in his or her sample, so an adverse finding stands regardless of intent; intent and fault affect only the length of the sanction.
• Q: How much urine is needed and how is it split? A: At least 90 mL, divided by the athlete into the A bottle (minimum 60 mL) and the B bottle (minimum 30 mL), both sealed and code-numbered by the athlete.
• Q: What are whereabouts failures and how many trigger a violation? A: Filing failures and missed tests by a Registered Testing Pool athlete; any three in a 12-month period constitute an anti-doping rule violation.
• Q: What are the four conditions for a Therapeutic Use Exemption? A: A diagnosed condition needing the substance, no extra performance benefit beyond return to normal health, no reasonable permitted alternative, and the need not arising from earlier non-TUE use of a prohibited substance.
• Q: Which classes are prohibited only in competition? A: S6 stimulants, S7 narcotics, S8 cannabinoids and S9 glucocorticoids; beta-blockers (P1) are restricted to particular sports such as shooting and archery.
• Q: What is the Athlete Biological Passport and why is it powerful? A: Longitudinal monitoring of an athlete's own blood and steroid markers; it can show the effect of doping, such as blood manipulation or EPO, even when the substance itself is no longer detectable.
• Q: What statute governs anti-doping in India and what did it change? A: The National Anti-Doping Act, 2022, which gave NADA statutory status, created the National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports, recognised the NDTL and established the Disciplinary and Appeal Panels.
• Q: An athlete tests positive because of a contaminated supplement - what is the likely outcome? A: It is still an ADRV, but if the athlete proves the source was a contaminated product and shows no significant fault, the sanction can range from a reprimand to two years rather than four.
• Q: As a coach, what are your own obligations under the Code? A: To know and follow the rules, cooperate with testing, not use prohibited substances without justification, not associate with sanctioned personnel, and to educate athletes - breach can bring sanctions on the coach, including a lifetime ban for trafficking or administration.
• Q: Where does an Indian national-level athlete appeal a doping decision? A: To the National Anti-Doping Appeal Panel; international-level athletes and WADA appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Common mistakes

• Saying there are "three" or "ten" ADRVs - the 2021 Code lists eleven, the newest being retaliation against someone who reports doping.
• Claiming that proving no intention clears the athlete; it only reduces the sanction, because presence is a strict-liability violation.
• Mixing up the in-competition-only classes (S6-S9) with those banned at all times, and so declaring cannabis or a stimulant banned 24 hours a day.
• Treating a TUE as something obtained after a positive test - it must normally be applied for at least 30 days in advance, retroactively only in defined circumstances.
• Confusing WADA with NADA, or saying India "signed the WADA Code" - governments ratify the UNESCO Convention; NADA, as a signatory NADO, accepts the Code.
• Stating wrong sample volumes (writing 75 mL, or putting 30 mL in the A bottle) and forgetting the specific-gravity suitability check.
• Assuming an FSSAI-licensed or "herbal" supplement is automatically safe - contamination is the commonest Indian defence and the athlete still carries the liability.

Related topics

Sports injuries and first aid · Sports nutrition and ergogenic aids · Exercise physiology: training adaptations · Sports psychology and motivation · Sports law and governance in India (National Sports Governance Act, 2025) · Tests and measurement in physical education