A 14-year-old Indian swimmer has tested positive for a banned substance and been provisionally suspended.
The athlete’s name has not been disclosed due to being a minor, though reports indicate they were tested in the lead-up to the Asian Games, which will run from September 23 – October 8 in Hangzhou, China.
The 14-year-old’s positive was reported by Indian outlets alongside news that Wushu (Kung fu) athlete Owais Sarwar, another projected member of the Indian team at the Asian Games, had also tested positive for an illegal substance.
Both athletes tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, according to India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA)’s list of provisional suspensions, while reports also indicated Sarwar’s sample included several other substances.
19-Norandrosterone is a metabolite of the anabolic androgenic steroid nandrolone, and can help in “increasing muscle strength and mass, and to speed up recovery,” according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Earlier this year, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended two Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors after they tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, while UFC fighter Jose De Souza received a two-year sanction for taking the substance two months ago.
The news of the 14-year-old Indian swimmer’s positive test comes shortly after 16-year-old Jamaican swimmer Mackenzie Headley was publically reprimanded by an Independent Doping Panel for failing a pair of drug tests last year.
Why would a 14 yo need norandrosterone? 😱
The coach and parents must be held responsible.
LMFAO
Dude is going to ruin his endocrine system
This is why anti-doping is so important to me.
if it’s not going to be dealt with very harshly, the logical approach would be to get athletes using as early as possible to maximise the benefit, and without increasing their risk of being caught.
So sad, at 14 they are not making these life altering decisions unguided and on their own. Hard to prove but any coach or parent involved must be given life ban also, we don’t need these kinds of “influencers” in any sport.
That is a bummer
14yr to that nuts😆
Hi Tyson 🥹
Heyyyy😍😍
yeahs