Tamil Nadu sprinter Dhanalakshmi provisionally suspended after testing positive for steroids

Sprinter Dhanalakshmi Sekar had tested positive a second time for the steroid drostanolone. Her sample in question was collected at the Indian Open athletics meet at Sangrur, Punjab, on July 27.

These details have now been confirmed after Sportstar first reported the dope positive story on September 29. The Tamil Nadu athlete has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect.

Dhanalakshmi had come back from her earlier suspension on 17 July this year. Within ten days, she seemed to have fallen into the net cast by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). She clocked 11.55s in winning the 100m at Sangrur.

The proceedings will now move onwards as per regulations, including a hearing before the disciplinary panel and, if she is contesting the outcome of her positive test and prefers to place before the panel evidence to rebut NADA’s claim, a series of possible hearings.

A second steroid offence is likely to lead to a standard eight-year suspension unless the athlete can establish “unintentional” use of the substance, in which case the degree of fault or negligence would be assessed to determine the extent of sanction.

Dhanalakshmi had tested positive in July 2022 through out-of-competition tests done by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics (WA) at Antalya, as well as by NADA in India immediately on her return from Turkey. She had then tested positive for another steroid, methandienone.

Drostanolone is a steroid that helps the body increase muscle mass and strength and at the same time helps it reduce fat. Like all steroids, it is also banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for its performance-enhancing capacity as well as its harmful effects on athletes from a health perspective.

Unless the athlete is able to establish that the drostanolone, a derivative of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), came from a supplement or a prescription drug that he/she was consuming under doctor’s supervision or the substance accidentally got mixed up with his/her food or the food was “sabotaged”, the chances of an athlete getting off lightly for a violation of this nature are slim.

Drostanolone, like dozens of other banned drugs, may come up in supplements. If it could be established that the particular supplement the athlete was taking contained the drug and there is evidence to prove that the supplement in question was bought by the athlete, there could be hope for a reduced sanction.

Dhanalakshmi had clocked her personal best of 11.34s for the 100m in the Tamil Nadu State meet at Salem on 19 July, and she completed the sprint double there by winning the 200m in 23.16s. She went on to score another sprint double in the National Inter-State championships at Chennai in August, clocking 11.36s and 23.53s. She was also part of the Tamil Nadu sprint relay team that won the gold in the Inter-State meet.

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Little would she or anyone have imagined that the sprinter who was part of the quartet that clocked the current national record of 43.37s in the 4x100m relay at Patiala in 2021 would fail another dope test just when she looked ready to start all over again.

If an athlete admits the doping offence within 20 days of being charged, there is a provision to reduce the ban period of four years or more by one year. Many Indian athletes are taking this option nowadays, which avoids lengthy disciplinary proceedings and cuts down legal expenses. If there is an appeal at the Indian level or abroad, there will be further delay in getting a final decision.

NADA has pointed out that the second offence may carry a suspension of up to eight years and that all of the results achieved by the athlete on or after sample collection date would stand disqualified if the decision goes against her. Dhanalakshmi has been asked to provide a written explanation with supporting documents, if any, within 15 days of receiving the notice. As is the practice, the copy of the notice has also been sent to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), AIU (World Athletics) and WADA.

Published on Oct 06, 2025