India's top woman 400m runner, Deepanshi, has been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after failing a dope test during the recent National Inter-State Championships, where she secured a silver medal.
The 21-year-old clocked a personal best of 52.01 seconds, finishing second to Kiran Pahal's 50.92 seconds in the women's 400m final in Panchkula.
However, an in-competition urine sample taken on June 27, either after the heats or semifinals, revealed the presence of anabolic steroids.
"Yes, she has failed the dope test conducted during the National Inter-State Championships and has been provisionally suspended," a reliable source told under anonymity.
This incident marks the first positive dope case from the National Inter-State Championships (June 27-30), the final qualifying event for the Paris Olympics.
Notably, Deepanshi does not train at the national camp.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has a policy to select only campers for the national relay team to maintain close supervision.
Deepanshi's case appears to validate this policy, as she was the third-fastest woman quarter-miler in the country before her suspension.
A rising star from Haryana, Deepanshi was the national U20 champion in 2021. Her best senior-level finish was third at the Indian Grand Prix in Thiruvananthapuram in March last year.
At the National Inter-State, she recorded times of 53.87 in the heats and 52.12 in the semifinals, before further improving to 52.01 in the final.
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