Sprinter Nirmala Sheoran banned for 4 years for doping

Indian sprinter Nirmala Sheoran on Wednesday was banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for four years after she was found positive for steroids.

On 29 June last year, a sample was collected from Sheoran.

The 24-year-old sprinter's sample was found to have Drostanolone and Metenolone which are Prohibited Substances under the WADA 2018 Prohibited List.

Sheoran admitted the violation of the Anti-Doping Rule on 28 November 2018.

"She has been banned for four years from 29th June 2018, the date of the sample collection. So, she has not been banned from the date of the order but from the date of sample collection," an Athletics Federation of India (AFI) official told ANI.

"Normally, the ban starts from the date of the order and it is seen that whether the athlete was provisionally suspended or not. If the athlete is provisionally suspended then they take four years from the date of the provisional suspension," the official added.

Apart from the four-year ban, the consequences also include the disqualification of Sheoran's results from 15 August 2016 to 21 November 2018 including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals.

"Disqualification of the Athlete's results from 15 August 2016 to 21 November 2018 with all resulting consequences including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money pursuant to Articles 9 and 10.8 ADR," AIU said in their decision.