India continues to top the global list of athletes and support personnel facing sanctions for doping and related offences, according to the latest list released by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), news agency PTI reported.The AIU list includes 162 names from India, the highest among all countries. Kenya comes in second place with 148 names, while Russia comes in third place with more than 60 cases.The list includes people who are banned for doping offences. It also includes those found guilty of non-doping violations such as tampering, evading a test, trafficking or failing to provide information on their whereabouts, as these offenses carry the same penalties as doping violations.The Athletics Integrity Unit is an independent anti-doping body established by the International Association of Athletics Federations. He supervises international level athletes and their support staff.India first moved ahead of Kenya in April this year and remained ahead when the June list was released.Earlier in April, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) classified India as a country with a “very high” doping risk after it topped the list of doping offenders in athletics over the past two years.
Following the recent decision taken by the AIU Board of Directors, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has been moved from Category B to Category A under Rule 15 of the World Anti-Doping Rules for Athletics.“Unfortunately, the quality of the domestic anti-doping program is simply not commensurate with the risks of doping,” David Homan, head of the International Integrity Unit, said in a statement.India was among the top two countries for anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) in athletics from 2022 to 2025.According to the AIU, India registered 48 ADRVs (2nd) in 2022, 63 (2nd) in 2023, 71 (1st) in 2024 and 30 ADRVs (1st) in 2025.Under the World Anti-Doping Rules for Athletics, the IAAF Governing Council classifies member federations into different risk categories based on their doping record. Category A represents the highest risk, Category B represents moderate risk, and Category C represents low risk.Category A member associations must meet the most stringent anti-doping requirements. This includes maintaining and implementing an annual testing program that complies with international standards for testing and investigations.The testing program must ensure that athletes selected for the national team at any World Athletics Series, Olympic Games or World Athletics Championships final event, who are not already in the registered international testing pool, are adequately tested.The AIU reviews each member association’s class every three years by examining factors such as the doping history of athletes and athlete support staff. However, he can change the union category at any time during that three-year period.