Two Indian athletes have received provisional suspensions related to doping. One, Sneha Kolleri, for testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The other Varsha Tekam for evading doping control officers.
Sneha Kolleri
Indian 400 metre sprinter Sneha Kolleri has been provisionally suspended after her samples showed the presence of stanozolol.
The performance-enhancing (PED) substance is an anabolic steroid.
“The AIU has provisionally suspended Sneha Kolleri (India) for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (stanozolol),” a statement from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) read on Monday.
Kolleri, who was planning to race the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships, starting Tuesday in Gumi, South Korea, has been withdrawn from the meet. Kolleri, a part of the national camp run by the Athletics Federation of India in Thiruvananthapuram, was named in the Indian mixed and women’s 4x400m relay teams for the Asian Championships. She was also a part of the Indian mixed 4x400m relay team at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China earlier this month.
This suspension has reverberated through the Indian team. The Indian governing body is strict when it comes to doping.
Varsha Tekam
Varsha Tekam has also faced a provisional suspension for evading a doping test, according to the AIU.
The AIU suspended Tekam for “evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection by an athlete under Article 2.3.”
Last year, Tekam finished second in the Pune Half Marathon with a time of 1:26.22.
With a slow time like that, doping clearly wasn’t worth the hassle of being caught — she was probably caught on foot.
