Indian athletics 2024: Neeraj shining but dope cheats also thriving

PTI New Delhi: Gold eluded him and so did the 90m mark but Neeraj Chopra was the undisputed star of Indian athletics for yet another year even as the sport itself continued a long-standing battle with dope cheats while trying to assert itself internationally by bringing big-ticket events to the country. The 26-year-old javelin throw superstar failed to defend his Olympic gold but became the most successful Indian athlete across disciplines in individual sports with his silver medal in the Paris Games. He also finished second in the prestigious Diamond League Finale.

Creditably, he achieved both the accolades while carrying an injury. A nagging adductor niggle (a problem related to thigh muscles) troubled him in the run-up to Paris Olympics and a fracture in his left hand hit him ahead of DL Finale. Chopra later said that his injury is fine. He was beaten for the Olympic gold by Pakistani Arshad Nadeem, who surprised the world with a Games record throw of 92.97m.

Likes of Sable and men's 4x400m quartet disappoint: India's top 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable failed to go beyond winning medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. He finished 11th in the Paris Olympics final. Another highlight for him was making it to the Diamond League Finale, after a few higher-ranked competitors pulled out. But he couldn't really set the stage on fire and ended up in ninth place. Another world class athlete, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar missed the Olympics due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery.

Hall of Shame: The menace of doping did not leave Indian athletics and the country's credibility of its continued to dwindle internationally. The World Anti-Doping Agency named India as the second worst after Russia in a 10-year global study of positive doping cases by minors. Among the stars to let the country down was 2016 Rio Olympian quarter-miler Nirmala Sheoran, who copped an eight-year ban for a second dope offence.

Hammer thrower Rachna Kumari was banned for 12 years for failing multiple dope tests conducted by the international federation's Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Distance runner G Lakshmanan (for whereabouts failure) and sprinter Himani Chandel were handed handed two and four-year bans respectively. 'Middle distance runner Parvej Khan, who made headlines with his exploits at the NCAA circuit in the USA, also failed a dope test along with Asian Games 4x400m relay gold-winning quarter-miler VK Vismaya.

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