India’s star sprinter, Hima Das, has been exonerated by the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) after being charged with three whereabouts failures within a span of 12 months. The panel upheld the earlier decision by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP), clearing her of any doping violations.
Panel upholds decision to exonerate Hima
On September 4, the ADAP supported the disciplinary panel’s decision to clear Hima of doping charges. “The ADDP order is upheld. Athlete exonerated from doping charges,” confirmed the latest update on the NADA website. While no specific details were provided on who filed the appeal, it is assumed that NADA initiated the appeal, as it has done in similar cases in the past when decisions favoured athletes.
NADA suspended Hima Das over whereabouts failures
Last year, the 24-year-old athlete from Assam faced a provisional suspension from the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) due to her repeated failures to provide whereabouts information. These failures occurred three times within a 12-month period. Hima returned to action in the 200m race at the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Bengaluru on April 30 but was unable to complete the race. She also participated in the Inter-State Athletics Championships before the Olympics.
Injury kept Hima out of Asian Games Squad
Hima, who missed out on the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year due to an injury sustained earlier in the year, had been provisionally suspended by NADA for her whereabouts failures. The exact nature of her failure—whether it was a filing issue or a missed test—remains unclear.