Panchkula (Haryana) javelin thrower DP Manu, who was considered an Olympic hopeful, has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
A source aware of the development confirmed that Manu's positive test occurred during the Indian Grand Prix in April this year.
Earlier, Manu was asked by the Athletics Federation of India to stay away from competitions following instructions from NADA.
Manu, 24, who won a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Championships, was more or less certain to qualify for the Olympics through a quota in the world rankings, but will miss the bus to Paris after the latest event .
He was on the initial entry list for the National Interstate Championships that began here Thursday. But his name has been removed from the updated list.
AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said NADA had asked the federation to suspend Manu from competitions, but did not confirm whether the athlete had committed a doping violation.
"There could be something like that, but we still don't know what it is exactly. Yesterday there was a phone call to the AFI (NADA) office for him (Manu) to be excluded from the competitions," Sumariwalla said.
"Otherwise, there are no details (about what kind of possible violation). I think the athlete (DP Manu) himself is finding out in NOWHERE what exactly it is."
Manu finished second to Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra with a throw of 82.06m at the Federation Cup from May 15 to 19 in Bhubaneswar. He subsequently won gold at the Taiwan Athletics Open in Taipei City on June 1 with a throw of 81.58 m.
Manu was ranked 15th on the World Athletics Road to Paris list and is on track to qualify for the Paris Olympics as 32 athletes will compete in the men's javelin throw event. The deadline to qualify is June 30.
Chopra and Kishore Jena have already secured automatic qualification for the Olympics after clearing the entry standard of 85.50m.
A country can have a maximum of three athletes in an Olympic Games athletics event.
A source aware of the development confirmed that Manu's positive test occurred during the Indian Grand Prix in April this year.
Earlier, Manu was asked by the Athletics Federation of India to stay away from competitions following instructions from NADA.
Manu, 24, who won a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Championships, was more or less certain to qualify for the Olympics through a quota in the world rankings, but will miss the bus to Paris after the latest event .
He was on the initial entry list for the National Interstate Championships that began here Thursday. But his name has been removed from the updated list.
AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said NADA had asked the federation to suspend Manu from competitions, but did not confirm whether the athlete had committed a doping violation.
"There could be something like that, but we still don't know what it is exactly. Yesterday there was a phone call to the AFI (NADA) office for him (Manu) to be excluded from the competitions," Sumariwalla said.
"Otherwise, there are no details (about what kind of possible violation). I think the athlete (DP Manu) himself is finding out in NOWHERE what exactly it is."
Manu finished second to Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra with a throw of 82.06m at the Federation Cup from May 15 to 19 in Bhubaneswar. He subsequently won gold at the Taiwan Athletics Open in Taipei City on June 1 with a throw of 81.58 m.
Manu was ranked 15th on the World Athletics Road to Paris list and is on track to qualify for the Paris Olympics as 32 athletes will compete in the men's javelin throw event. The deadline to qualify is June 30.
Chopra and Kishore Jena have already secured automatic qualification for the Olympics after clearing the entry standard of 85.50m.
A country can have a maximum of three athletes in an Olympic Games athletics event.
