4 min readMay 2, 2026 10:08 PM IST
The head of the International Testing Agency (ITA), which oversees anti-doping programmes at the Olympic Games and other major global events, has raised concerns about the high number of doping cases in India, including reports that athletes receive “advance notice prior to testing” and avoid providing samples.
ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen said in a report that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has conveyed that if India aims to host the 2036 Olympics, it must undertake “a lot of governance and structural reforms”.
“We’re concerned in general with the state of doping in India and we’re hearing a lot of things happening on the ground,” Cohen was quoted as saying by The Athletic, a sports publication of The New York Times. “We also hear stories of athletes running away when there is a doping control, and we hear of advance notice (given to athletes prior to testing).”
In addition to managing anti-doping testing for the IOC, the Lausanne-based ITA also runs programmes for around 50 international sports federations.
Cohen said he met officials from the New Delhi-based National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the recent Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, and was encouraged by their apparent willingness to “team up with the ITA”.
However, he acknowledged that closer collaboration may not come easily, as it could be perceived in India as an admission that its anti-doping system is failing.
“I’m going to be frank: there is still some resistance to engage with the ITA, as there can be a perception in India that this is almost an admission of failure of the system, or that they’re not going to be seen as competent enough to deal with their own problems, so they have to join forces with an independent international organisation. There’s a bit of scepticism as to how it’s going to be perceived in the Indian community. But I think they (India) are on the right track in that it is now known that the IOA and the Ministry of Sports want to do something: they want to invest. They have the resources, so I think it’s just a matter of time,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
The ITA works with a growing number of National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) worldwide to share intelligence, coordinate testing strategies, and collaborate on specific cases, including areas like sample collection and education.
India has topped the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of doping offenders for three consecutive years, recording the highest positivity rate among major nations.
The country is set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and is also bidding to stage the 2036 Olympic Games in the Gujarat city.
Doha, the capital of Qatar, is another contender for the 2036 Olympics, with the host city expected to be announced before the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Story continues below this ad
Last month, WADA President Witold Banka said on the sidelines of the Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network (GAIIN) conference in New Delhi that “nobody is blind” to India’s serious doping issue, though he acknowledged “sincere efforts” to address it.
He also stated that India is the world’s largest producer of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and steroids.
The ITA was established in 2018 as a non-profit foundation under the supervision of WADA and the IOC to promote independence, expertise, and transparency in the global fight against doping.
