WADA report names India as second-worst nation in doping cases by minors

India was on Wednesday named as the second worst country in a 10-year global study of positive doping cases by minors conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Russia toped the list, followed by India and China, in the report published by the WADA on Wednesday on the findings of ‘Operation Refuge’, a broad analysis and examination of doping amongst minors in sport.

"Countries with the most positive tests reported against Minors were (in descending order) Russia, India, and China. Countries with the most sanctioned Minors were Russia, India, and China," the WADA said in the report.

"The Prohibited Substances most detected in Minors from those countries were, respectively, Furosemide, Nandrolone (or its precursors), 15 and Clenbuterol.

"The Prohibited Substances most responsible for the sanctions in those countries were, respectively, Furosemide, Stanozolol, 21 and Clenbuterol," the world's anti-doping watchdog said about the three worst countries as far as doping by minors is concerned.

A minor is defined by the WADA Code as a person under the age of eighteen years.

Since 2012, there have been 1,518 Adverse Analytical Findings (Positive Tests) reported against 1,416 Minors, with diuretics, stimulants and anabolic steroids being the most detected substances.

Overall, the substances which most often resulted in a doping violation and sanction were Furosemide and Metandienone, the report said.

The youngest minor to be sanctioned for a doping violation was 12 years old.

"Between 2018 and 2023,22 58 confidential reports implicating Minors in doping behaviours were received via WADA’s confidential reporting platform, ‘Speak Up’," the report said.

"Analysis of those disclosures revealed that the majority had originated from Russia and India, and that the most reported sports, globally, were aquatics and athletics." ‘Operation Refuge’ reports in detail about the deep trauma and isolation child athletes experience following a positive test and doping sanction.

Undertaken by WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations Department, the report sheds light on the immense challenges faced by minors, their families and the anti-doping community when a child tests positive for a prohibited substance or method.

WADA director, Intelligence and Investigations, Gunter Younger, said: “'Operation Refuge’ places a difficult but important issue into the spotlight. WADA’s Confidential Information Unit first raised the matter as it was concerned by the volume of reports received through its ‘Speak Up!’ platform regarding doping activity amongst minor athletes."

"The unit was driven by a desire to change how WADA and the anti-doping community investigate these cases. What started as a simple idea developed into a two-year long Intelligence and Investigations initiative to engage the entire anti-doping community to do better."

"Thanks to this initiative, we are forging a better path forward for minors around the globe. We are working towards ensuring that the experiences of those interviewed during this operation do not continue to repeat themselves.” Background on ‘Operation Refuge’