Indian Basketball sensation Satnam Singh banned for doping

The 25-year-old played in the USA for a long time before coming to India.

Indian Basketball stalwart Satnam Singh Bhamara has been slapped with a two years ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) disciplinary panel (ADDP).

Satnam Singh, who created history in 2015 by becoming the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in the NBA, was charged for consuming a banned substance, Higenamine, a beta-2 agonist.

The whole issue was dragged over one year with the pandemic coming in with a lot more restrictions but the hearing clearly stated that basketball player was found guilty of consuming a banned substance as he was not cautious enough to verify the supplement.

It is also added that Satnam Singh has been ignorant rather than intentionally taking the supplement to gauge an undue advantage over his fellow athletes. A senior athlete like him has to be more careful about NADA's rules and regulations.

He has been on exile since his provisional ban imposed by NADA from November 19, 2019 and it will end in November 2021. In this time period, he will be unable to represent India and also won't feature in foreign leagues and tryouts.

The athlete was tested positive for the supplement during an out of competition test carried forward by NADA in Bengaluru back in 2019 during the preparatory camp for the South Asian Games.

Satnam Singh comes from a humble background and has reached the pinnacle of basketball, the NBA. The 7'2" centre from Punjab's Barnala district created history when he was picked by the Dallas Mavericks in 2015. He continued his development for the next couple of years and featured in Development League for the Texas Legends, a Mavericks affiliation.

He also became the first Indian to feature in the National Basketball League in Canada when he signed for St John’s Edge in September 2018.

The disciplinary panel stated in its verdict, "The examination offered by the athlete shows his negligence which is no ground to exonerate him for his act of consuming the specified prohibited substance. The hearing panel holds that since the athlete in the present case was negligent in consuming the specified prohibited substance without verifying its composition and elements and without disclosing the same inthe doping control form."

"He is liable for sanctions under article 10.5.1 for ineligibility for a period of two years. The period of his ineligibility for the period of two years shall commence from the date of acceptance of provisional suspension i.e. 19.11.2019," the panel concluded.