Judoka Tulika Maan suspended, withdrawn from CWG

Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medal-winning judoka Tulika Maan has been withdrawn from the ongoing Glasgow edition after being handed a provisional suspension by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for three whereabouts failures in the last 12 months.

Maan had won silver in the +78kg category in the 2022 edition and she was a strong medal prospect in Glasgow as well. She now stares at a two-year ban.

“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 So, she will be withdrawn from the team,” a judo coach told PTI on conditions of anonymity. The 27-year-old from Delhi is the second judoka to have been withdrawn from Glasgow CWG.

On Thursday, Arun Kumar, who competes in the men’s -73kg category, was pulled out of the Games after failing an out-of-competition dope test.

He was handed a provisional suspension by the NADA for testing positive for an anabolic steroid.

Maan is one of the most accomplished judokas in the country.

She had represented the country in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she made an exit in the round of 32. She also took part in the 2022 and 2024 World Championships.

The Indian judo team has not yet left for the Games as its competition schedule will kick off on July 31. The judokas are scheduled to depart on July 27.

India had originally approved a 14-strong judo team, featuring seven men and an equal number of women.

The country had clinched three medals in the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games. The six-member contingent that went to Birmingham in 2022 secured three medals — two silver and one bronze.

Under the World Athletics Anti-Doping (WADA) rules, any combination of three whereabouts failures — filing failure and/or missed test — within a period of 12 months constitute an anti-doping rule violation.

Athletes included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) must provide the 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 frame 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 results in a whereabouts failure.