Star Indian sprinter Hima Das is set to make her long-awaited return to the track at the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The 24-year-old was provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) last year for three whereabouts failures in 12 months. However, a NADA Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel cleared her to compete again last month.
Das’s return is a major boost for Indian athletics. She is a former Asian Games silver medalist in the 400m and was part of the gold and silver-winning women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay quartets in Jakarta in 2018. She was not named in the Hangzhou Asian Games team last year due to an injury.
Das last ran a race in April 2022, when she won a gold in the 200m at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru. She missed the entire 2023 season due to injury.
Das’s whereabouts failures came to light in September last year. Under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, any combination of three whereabouts failures within a period of 12 months constitute an anti-doping rule violation. Athletes included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) must provide full address for their overnight location, the name and full address of each location where they train, work or conduct other regular scheduled activities, as well as the usual time-frames of each activity. RTP athletes must also identify a 60-minute window and location for each day of the quarter, during which they must be available for testing. Failure to comply with whereabouts and testing obligations will result in a whereabouts failure.
Das has faced a maximum two-year ban if proven guilty, which can be reduced to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of her fault. However, the NADA disciplinary panel cleared her to compete again, and she is now set to make her return at the Indian Grand Prix 1.
