India faces growing pressure in its Olympic bid following the latest doping data published by the WADA -World Anti-Doping Agency-, which places the country with a positivity rate of 3.6% in 2024, the highest among major nations conducting more than 5,000 tests, as reported at the end of the year by the Indian media.

The figure, although it represents a slight improvement compared to the 3.8% recorded in 2023, keeps India at the top of this ranking for the third consecutive year, a factor that is already internally acknowledged as a possible obstacle in the race to host the 2036 Olympic Games.

Doping enters the Olympic equation

From the Ministry of Sports itself, it is admitted that the evolution of these indicators is not unrelated to the evaluation process of the International Olympic Committee -IOC-, which will have to assess the Indian bid in the coming years. From 3.8% in 2023 they dropped to 3.6% despite conducting many more tests, said the Indian press. They also stressed that in 2025 more than 7,000 tests had already been carried out with a rate “slightly above 1%”. Although these figures have not yet been made official.

Beyond the specific improvement, the message reflects a shift in approach: performance in anti-doping matters is no longer perceived only as a sporting issue, but as a governance element directly linked to international credibility and the viability of major projects such as the Olympic Games.

A matter of reputation and governance

Comparative data reinforce this reading. China, with more than 24,000 tests in 2024, recorded a rate of 0.2%; the United States, with 6,592 tests, stood at 1.1%; while Russia, despite its history, posted 0.7%. In this context, India’s 3.6% takes on a dimension that goes beyond statistics.

These results show serious structural problems, such as the pressure to access public sector jobs through sport, which pushes athletes and coaches toward wrong decisions. They also acknowledge unintentional cases related to the consumption of contaminated medicines, a problem they are trying to mitigate with tools such as the ‘Know Your Medicine’ application.