Indian hammer thrower Manju Bala, a bronze medallist at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, has been handed a five-year suspension by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after testing positive for banned substances.
The veteran athlete tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-testosterone, an anabolic steroid, and SARMS LGD-4033 (ligandrol) — both substances prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.
NADA had announced her positive test result in September 2024, and the ADDP’s final ruling, issued in October 2025, confirmed the suspension. The ban, effective from July 10, 2024, will keep the 35-year-old out of all national and international competitions until mid-2029.
Manju Bala, once considered among India’s top prospects in women’s hammer throw, has represented the country at several major continental events.
In its latest round of anti-doping sanctions, the ADDP also announced several other suspensions. Mohan Saini received a four-year ban starting October 14, 2025, for a separate doping violation.
Among bodybuilders, Gopala Krishnan, Amit Kumar, and Rajvardhan Sanjay Waskar were each banned for six years, while Shubham Mahara received a four-year suspension.
In other cases, boxer Sumit was banned for two years, canoeist Nitin Verma for four years, and basketball player Shivendra Pandey for six years after testing positive for prohibited substances.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) upheld the four-year ban imposed in 2024 on sprinter Himani Chandel, dismissing her appeal and reaffirming NADA’s strict stance on doping violations.
