Athletics roundup 2022 | Historic show by Neeraj Chopra and CWG stars but dope cases shame India again
The Hindu
Even as India emerges as a force to reckon with at the global athletics scene, a series of high-profile doping cases took the sheen off the impressive performance on the field.
Neeraj Chopra continued to conjure up history-scripting performances, inspiring the likes of Avinash Sable and Murali Sreeshankar in their quest for global success, but the age-old dope menace raised its ugly head again and shamed the nation at the global stage.
At least six top Indian athletes were caught for using banned drugs and the run-up to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, as usual, was marred by a series of dope positive cases.
The legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, also senior vice president of Athletics Federation of India, dropped a bombshell, saying that athletes who trained abroad brought back banned drugs for distribution among some of their colleagues.
The 24-year-old Chopra, the poster-boy of Indian athletics, continued his exploits after his historic javelin throw gold in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He won a silver in the World Championships in the USA in July to become only the second Indian after Anju — who won a bronze in 2003 Paris edition — to win a medal at the showpiece.
In September, he became the Diamond League champion by winning the Finals of the prestigious meeting series, adding another 'first' to his name.
Chopra, however, could not defend his Commonwealth Games gold at Birmingham due to the "minor" groin injury he sustained during the World Championships.