Discus Thrower Seema Punia Suspended for 16 Months After Failing Doping Test

Discus Thrower Seema Punia Banned for 16 Months After Doping Violation.

Former Asian Games gold medallist Seema Punia has been handed a 16-month ban following a positive dope test. The suspension, effective 10 November, was announced by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in its updated list of offenders. NADA did not disclose the specific substance for which she tested positive.

This marks another setback in Punia’s career, which has a history of doping violations, including an offence at the junior level when she was 17.

Career Highlights

Punia, 42, last competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, winning a bronze medal.

She is a four-time Commonwealth Games medallist and has represented India at four Olympic Games (2004, 2012, 2016, 2020) and five Commonwealth Games.

Her career-best throw stands at 64.84m (2004).

She won her only Asian Games gold at Incheon 2014, followed by bronze in 2018.

At the junior level, she claimed a bronze at the 2002 World Championships.

Earlier in 2025, she coached para javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary, who won silver at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.

Recent Competitions and Retirement Plans

Punia had expressed a desire to retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics, for which she did not qualify. She has not competed since the Hangzhou Games.

Other Indian Athletes Suspended

Alongside Punia, several Indian athletes received bans for doping violations:

Pooja Yadav (distance running) – 4 years

Manjeet Kumar (shot put) – 6 years

Nikesh Dhanraj Rathod (middle-distance) – 4 years

Kuldeep Singh (marathon) – 4 years

Chhavi Yadav (steeplechase) – 4 years