India has earned the dubious distinction of being home to the second-highest percentage of dope cheats in the world after Mexico for 2013, according to a report by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).

In its anti-doping testing figures, WADA revealed that India’s National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) tested 6,709 urine and blood samples, of which 2.49% (167) returned positive for adverse findings. Only Mexico, with 8.27% (109 of 1,345), has a higher ratio than India.

In stark contrast, China, which tested more than 16,000 samples, recorded just 46 (0.30%) cases with adverse findings while Japan (0.22%) has least incidents of adverse findings.

India did, however, buck the global trend of a sharp increase in the number of abnormal test findings. WADA noted a 20% increase in positive samples worldwide compared to 2012. There were 5,962 adverse and atypical test results across all sports, compared with 4,723 in 2012. Adverse findings are those that detect the presence of a prohibited substance, while findings that necessitate further investigation by anti-doping authorities are labelled atypical.

India, meanwhile, recorded a drop of almost one percent in adverse findings while the number of samples tested increased by a 100. In 2012, 221 out of 6,608 samples (3.34%) had returned positive.

PSM Chandran, former director of sports medicine at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), said the 2012 figure was higher as it had been an Olympic year.

“Generally, athletes use banned substances in years when big events are scheduled, to qualify for them. Hence, it isn’t surprising to see a dip in 2013, a non-Olympic year,” Chandran said.

Out of the 167 positive cases of adverse findings, 131 were in Olympic sports with 123 in-competition and 8 out-of-competition. There were 36 positive cases in non-Olympic sports, including three in cricket.

High on dope

Athletics, with 28 positive samples out of the 1,314 tested, accounted for the most number of positive cases among the Olympic sports in India followed by weightlifting with 19 positive cases out of 735 tests and wrestling (8 of 271).

Indian boxers, meanwhile, were subject to the most frequent visits by dope testing officers. There were 478 samples collected in boxing, of which just four returned positive. Badminton, hockey and shooting were among the sports with zero failed tests despite vigorous testing.

Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) medical committee chief Arun Mendiratta insisted the high figures were the result result of a concerted effort by NADA, which was formed six years ago, as well as a lack of education on the part of athletes.

“The number is very high and alarming. However, you’ll see that very few top level athletes have tested positive. That is because they are constantly tested by NADA and are smart not to use banned substances in the way they are detected. There is little awareness and a lot of ignorance among the athletes too,” Mendiratta said. “We, along with NADA, have stepped up our efforts but still, a lot needs to be done, mainly in educating the athletes.”