New Delhi: The National Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday that it will take stringent action against the Indian athletes who have tested positive for banned substances.
NADA Director General Rahul Bhatnagar told CNN-IBN that the organisation will also increase the number of tests before the 2012 London Olympics. "We don't want our athletes to be caught before the Olympics. We will go to the extent of checking the players' rooms if need be."
The latest doping scandal to emerge in India has added to the 122 positive cases reported in an 11-month period starting May 2010, involving mainly wrestlers and weightlifters.
Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose, two of India's leading 400 metres runners and part of last year's Commonwealth and Asian Games champion relay quartet, were provisionally suspended earlier this week after testing positive for anabolic steroids.
The athletics federation confirmed on Thursday that four lesser-known Indian athletes had also failed dope tests.
"Since NADA was set up two years ago, we have been steadily increasing the number of samples. We collected more than 2,600 last year and plan 3,500 this year.
"We want to make it 4,500 next year, so that it acts as a deterrent for any athlete contemplating a shortcut to success," Bhatnagar said.
(With PTI inputs)
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