India’s judo contingent has suffered another setback ahead of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, with Birmingham 2022 silver medallist Tulika Maan being withdrawn from the squad following a provisional suspension imposed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). Maan, who claimed silver in the women’s 78kg category at the previous Games, was widely regarded as one of India’s leading medal hopefuls for the Glasgow edition. However, her campaign ended before it could begin after NADA flagged three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.
“She has committed three whereabouts failures in a 12-month period, and NADA has sent notice to her. So, she will be withdrawn from the team,” a judo coach told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The development comes just a day after another Indian judoka, Arun Kumar, was removed from the squad. Competing in the men’s 73kg category, Arun was withdrawn after failing an out-of-competition doping test, adding to India’s concerns ahead of the Games.
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The Indian judo team has not yet departed for Glasgow, with its events scheduled to begin on July 31. The contingent is expected to leave for the Games on July 27.
Earlier, weightlifter Dilbagh Singh also had to depart from Glasgow after the sport’s quota was reduced from 12 to 11. According to PTI, “The federation got to know about the reduction of quota from 12 to 11 lifters only yesterday.”
“Since Dilbagh is suffering from a back injury and did not train at all during the preparatory camp in Birmingham, a decision was made to withdraw him,” a source told the news agency.
Doping violations
India’s build-up to the CWG 2026 edition has been marred by doping violations. Weightlifters N Ajith (71kg), Sairaj Pardeshi (88kg) and Harcharan Singh (110kg) were also banned for doping violations. On the other hand, women’s weightlifter Vanshita Verma (86kg) was also sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation in the qualification period.
However, Mirabai Chanu is not bothered about these distractions, saying the entire contingent is looking to make the country proud.
“I tell the whole team to stay relaxed. Everyone feels pressure, especially those who are competing for the first time. The boys and girls competing for the first time also feel pressure. On top of that, everyone in India expects more medals from weightlifting this time. So, there is pressure, but we will try our best to set it aside and perform the way we have trained. If we perform well on stage, everyone can definitely win a medal in weightlifting. But as for the rest, who knows what will happen on that day? We’ll see. But the whole team is doing well, and we will give our all,” she told news agency ANI.
