Indian javelin thrower and Olympian Shivpal Singh has been handed a 10-year suspension for a second doping violation, a punishment that could effectively bring the curtain down on his competitive career. The 31-year-old, who represented India at the Tokyo Olympics and won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships, was sanctioned by the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) Disciplinary Panel after testing positive for methandienone, a prohibited anabolic steroid.
The latest violation assumes greater significance because it is Singh’s second doping offence. Under anti-doping rules, repeat violations attract substantially heavier sanctions, and the decade-long suspension leaves the javelin thrower facing an uncertain future in elite athletics. Singh had been among India’s leading javelin throwers in the years around the Tokyo Games, with his personal best of 86.23 metres placing him among the country's best performers in the event.
Second doping violation
Singh’s first doping case dates back to 2021, when a sample collected during an out-of-competition test returned positive for a steroid. NADA’s Disciplinary Panel initially handed him a four-year suspension in August 2022, with the sanction backdated to 2021. Singh subsequently appealed the decision, arguing that the prohibited substance had entered his system through contaminated supplements.
The NADA Appeal Panel accepted his explanation in January 2023 and reduced the suspension to one year, clearing the way for an earlier return to competition. Singh resumed competing in April 2023 and soon returned to the domestic podium, winning bronze at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar in June before claiming gold at the National Games in Goa later that year. His comeback, however, has now been derailed by the second positive test.
Career now hangs in balance
The severity of the latest sanction could prove decisive for Singh’s career. At 31, a 10-year absence from competition would make a return to top-level athletics highly improbable. His most recent competition was the Indian Open Throws Competition in March 2025, where he finished second.
Singh had emerged as one of India's leading javelin throwers before the rise of the country's current generation in the event. His biggest international achievement came at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, where he won silver with a personal-best throw of 86.23 metres. The performance established him as a serious international contender and remains the longest throw of his career.
He subsequently secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, becoming part of an Indian javelin contingent that attracted considerable attention at the Games. Singh competed in the qualification round but failed to progress to the final. His career thereafter was interrupted by the first doping case and the resulting suspension.
Another athlete faces action
Singh is not the only Indian athlete facing anti-doping action in a repeat-offence case. Sprinter M.V. Jilna has also been provisionally suspended after testing positive for mephentermine in what has been reported as her second doping violation.
The cases once again put the spotlight on doping in Indian athletics and the consequences repeat offenders face under anti-doping regulations. For Singh, however, the implications are particularly severe. Having rebuilt his career following his earlier suspension and returned to national competition, the latest 10-year ban now threatens to end a career that once saw him emerge as one of India's foremost javelin throwers.