India’s Doping Cases Reach 78 by Mid‑July 2026 – UP and Punjab Lead the List

In a fairly routine‑looking session of the Lok Sabha, Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was asked by BJP MP Sambit Patra to shed some light on India’s doping numbers. It’s the kind of question that pops up every now and then – ‘how many athletes are we catching with banned substances?’ – and the answer, as it turns out, is a mix of worrying and reassuring figures.

As of 15 July 2026, the National Anti‑Doping Agency (NADA) logged 78 adverse analytical findings (AAFs). That’s the count of athletes whose samples tested positive for prohibited substances – the official term for a “doping case”. The number may look modest compared with the 260 violations recorded in 2024, but it still signals that the battle against performance‑enhancing drugs is far from over.

When you break the numbers down by state, a clear pattern emerges. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are tied at the top, each with 13 violations. Madhya Pradesh follows with 11, and Karnataka records 9. On the flip side, a host of states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim – reported zero cases during the same period. It’s a mixed bag that hints at both regional strengths in anti‑doping vigilance and pockets where testing might need a boost.

For context, here’s how the figures have shifted over the past three years: 213 violations in 2023, a spike to 260 in 2024, then a dip to 131 in 2025. The 2026 tally, still in progress, sits at 78 – a number that could rise a bit as more samples are processed.

Beyond the raw counts, NADA has been busy with outreach. The agency ran 220 awareness programmes in 2023, stepped it up to 280 in 2024, then over 340 in 2025. So far this year, up to 13 July, another 220 programmes have been conducted, aimed at educating athletes, coaches and support staff about the perils of doping.

Looking ahead, the Minister hinted at a concrete plan to expand the testing infrastructure. The proposal on the table is to establish more anti‑doping labs, but they’ll only become operational once they receive accreditation from the World Anti‑Doping Agency (WADA). It’s a sensible safeguard – you want the labs to meet international standards before they start handling high‑stakes samples.

One bold claim in the discussion was that India has "topped the WADA list of highest dope violations for the past three years." While the article states this, it’s worth noting that the exact ranking methodology wasn’t clarified, so the statement may need a double‑check against WADA’s official reports.

All in all, the figures paint a picture of a nation that’s making strides in detection and education, yet still wrestling with pockets of non‑compliance. As the anti‑doping machinery gets more labs and more awareness drives, the hope is that the next set of numbers will show a steadier decline – and that athletes across every corner of India will compete clean, knowing the watchdogs are watching.