NADA hands Indian basketball player Satnam Singh two-year doping ban
Satnam Singh Bhamara, the first Indian player to be drafted into NBA, has been handed a two-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) disciplinary panel for failing a dope test. His ban will commence retrospectively from November 19, 2019, and end on November 18 next year. During the period, he won't be able to represent India. Here is more on the same.
Bhamara had failed a doping test last year in Bengaluru
In November 2019, Bhamara was slapped with a provisional suspension after he failed an out-of-competition test conducted by NADA during a preparatory camp in Bangalore for the South Asian Games. Although the 25-year-old had opted out of the Games, he disputed the charge leveled against him. He requested NADA for a hearing by its Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP).
Disciplinary panel found Bhamara guilty of not exercising due caution
After a year-long hearing into the matter, the disciplinary panel found Bhamara guilty of not exercising due caution "in verifying the composition of the supplement he was consuming". Although the panel maintained that he didn't "intentionally" take the banned substance for gaining unfair advantage over other athletes, he was "negligent" enough in performing his duties after being fully aware of NADA's rules.
As per NADA, Bhamara consumed a prohibited substance
NADA said Bhamara had tested positive for Higenamine, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List in 2017, and is classified as a beta-2 agonist. The same is prohibited at all times, both in and out-of-competition.
Bhamara tested positive for Higenamine: NADA
Bhamara scripted history in 2015
Five years ago, Bhamara entered the record books when he was picked in the NBA draft by Dallas Mavericks. He went on to play the next two years in the Development League with Texas Legends, an affiliate of Dallas Mavericks. He again made history in September 2018 by becoming the first Indian to play in the National Basketball League of Canada.
