(Xports News Reporter Woojin Lee) Krishna Prasad Garaga (25), the Indian badminton men’s doubles national team member, was completely cleared of doping charges. There is controversy over the disappearance of the 4-year disciplinary action.
As the Indian Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) appeal panel completely revoked the existing disciplinary action, Garaga, whose career was in danger of being halted, is now on the verge of returning to the international stage.
India’s leading newspaper ‘Times of India’ said on the 27th (Korean time), “The NADA appeal panel canceled all suspensions issued against Garaga.”
The media reported, “After reviewing the entire doping test process and medical analysis, the panel determined that it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the detected substance was used by external administration.”
Garaga received a severe disciplinary action in November 2024 because human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was detected in a doping test conducted during the off-season. HCG is a substance designated as a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and at the time, NADA decided to impose a severe penalty of disqualification for up to four years based on the strict liability principle.
Garaga’s lawyers persistently refuted, saying, “HCG appears to have been detected as a physiological factor in the human body, not as an injected drug. External administration is impossible.”
The appeal panel, which accepted the defense’s argument, ruled that “there is not enough medical or scientific evidence to conclude that the detected HCG levels were due to externally administered drugs.”
The Times of India reported, “The appeal panel also raised issues with NADA’s investigation process itself.” “The appeal panel noted that NADA did not sufficiently conduct the necessary clinical investigation and additional verification to rule out pathological or physiological causes that could have caused the numbers,” they explained. He added, “The key to this decision is that it is not fair to conclude intentional doping based on the simple fact of detection.”
With this decision, Garaga was immediately lifted from all sanctions and his eligibility to participate in international competitions was fully restored. The media reported, “Garraga consistently maintained his innocence during the appeal process, and the appeal panel determined that there were sufficient circumstances to support that claim.”
Of course, there are some who are skeptical, citing the fact that it was NADA, the country’s own organization, that canceled Garaga’s disciplinary action.
Garaga, born in 2000 in India, is a player who has consistently shown international competitiveness in badminton men’s doubles.
He received attention as a key player in winning the 2022 Thomas Cup (World Men’s Badminton Team Championship), including gold medals in the badminton men’s doubles and team event at the 2019 South Asian Games.
In particular, winning the Thomas Cup was the first in Indian badminton and remains its proudest history to this day.
Together with his partner Vishnuvardhan Gud Panjala, he gradually increased his presence on the international stage, reaching a high of 31st in the world rankings in January 2023.
Although he is not an explosive star player, he has been used as a rotation resource for the national team based on his stable defense and net play.
‘Times of India’ commented, “Garaga received severe punishment at the beginning of his career, which could in fact put the athlete’s life in jeopardy. This ruling goes beyond restoring an individual’s reputation, and shows how important procedural fairness and scientific verification are in the doping determination process.”
With this acquittal, Garaga has the opportunity to compete in various super 300 and 500 level competitions of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the Asian and World Championships in the 2026 season. The Indian badminton world expects that Garaga’s return will provide breathing room for the rotation in the men’s doubles power structure centered on the Sathiwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty pair.
Meanwhile, some say that this case served as an opportunity to once again recall the importance of procedural legitimacy and scientific verification of the doping determination process in the international badminton world.
Photo = Times of India / Telegraph / The Bridge
Reporter Woojin Lee wzyfooty@xportsnews.com
