★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ RUSSIA, INDIA WARNINGS ≡
The athlete activist site Global Athlete and FairSport, an agency which focuses on supporting anti-doping work, have taken up the work of the Russia-focused news site, The Insider, and issued a joint statement on Monday (20th) concerning tie-ins between the Russian Anti-Doping Agency and the Russian government. The statement included:
“It confirms that Russian sport is not simply influenced by the state; it is directed by it.
“The findings link individuals connected to Russian state security structures, including the FSB [Federal security service], directly to the anti-doping system and sport in general.
“It also reveals a dangerous evolution that the same networks associated with state operations and poisoning of dissidents are now intertwined with the public-facing image of ‘new’ Russian sport. The idea that this system has changed is no longer credible.”
The conclusion noted:
“This is not about rule-breaking at the margins. It is about a system where athlete results, anti-doping processes, and sporting outcomes operate within a structure influenced by state security interests. …
“A full ban on Russia from international sport is now the only credible response.”
Russian and Belarusian athletes have been slowly re-integrated into international sport, with the aquatics, judo and taekwondo federations re-admitting all of their athletes without restrictions. The International Olympic Committee has endorsed re-integrating youth and junior athletes, but there is continued worry about doping. The direct challenge from the Global Athlete and FairSport letter will be on the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has not reinstated Russia, and on the IOC, which is on that path.
¶
The Athletics Integrity Unit issued a stern statement concerning India, which has designs on hosting the 2036 Olympic Games, but has been plagued by doping issues, especially in track & field. India, along with Kenya, are now consistently the nations with the highest number of ineligible persons on the AIU’s roster of sanctions (with Russia third).
The AIU notice stated in part:
“Indian athletes must now comply with more stringent anti-doping stipulations following the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) recategorization from ‘Category B’ to ‘Category A’, under Rule 15 of the World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rules.
“This decision, recently taken by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) Board, relates to the consistently ‘extremely high’ risk of doping in India which has ranked in the top two for the most Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) in athletics between 2022 and 2025.
“In 2022, India recorded 48 ADRVs (ranked 2nd); in 2023, 63 (ranked 2nd); in 2024, 71 (ranked 1st); and for 2025, India has recorded 30 ADRVs so far (ranked 1st) (note: there will be a substantial time lag in reporting the final ADRV numbers).”
Said AIU Chair David Howman (NZL):
“The doping situation in India has been high-risk for a long time and, unfortunately, the quality of the domestic anti-doping programme is simply not proportionate to the doping risk.”
The AIU did have good news for Bahrain, lowered from category “A” to “B” with Howman noting, “The BAA [Bahrain Athletics Association] is to be congratulated on the vast improvement of the anti-doping situation in Bahrain.”
However, due to insufficient testing of athletes by “Category B” the national federations in Botswana, Peru and Cuba, their athletes are now subject to minimum testing obligations for entries in major events like the World Athletics Relays in 2026 and the World Athletics Championships in 2027 in China:
“The athletes for each of these teams must have a minimum 3 out-of-competition tests in the lead-up to the relevant event to be eligible to compete.”
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 681-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
