CWG Doping Blow: Indian Judoka Arun Kumar Withdrawn from Glasgow Games After Failing NADA Test

Indian judoka Arun Kumar (-73kg) has been withdrawn from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games following a provisional suspension by NADA for an anabolic steroid. The setback drops India’s overall athlete contingent size down to 124 competitors

New Delhi: Indian judoka Arun Kumar has been withdrawn from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after failing an out of competition dope test.

Arun, who competes in the -73kg category, had participated in the Qingdao Grand Prix last month.

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He has been handed a provisional suspension by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for testing positive for an anabolic steroid.

“The notification for suspension has come. We have to withdraw him,” a well-placed source in the federation told PTI.

The judo contingent is yet to leave for Glasgow as the sport’s competition schedule unfolds from July 31. The team is due to leave on July 27.

India had originally approved a 14-strong judo team, featuring seven men and an equal number of women. The overall contingent size is now down to 124 from the original 126 after para-swimmer Tejas Nandakumar was dropped for failing to meet the classification criteria.

The 21-year-old Arun had won a gold medal at last year’s Taipei Asian Open.

India had clinched three medals in the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games. The six-member contingent that went to Birmingham in 2022 secured three medals — two silver and one bronze.

From that squad, silver-winning Tulika Maan would be aiming to upgrade her medal in the +78kg division.

Judokas had trained in Japan’s Tsakuba University till July 17 to prepare for the Glasgow Games.