New Delhi: Paris Olympian Reetika Hooda has waived her right to ‘B’ sample testing after returning positive for banned substances. This means the former junior world champion wrestler now faces the prospect of a four-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency (Nada) for her first time doping offence.She also runs the risk of forfeiting her medals won since March 15, 2025 – the date her sample was collected by Nada’s dope control officers.During the months leading to her provisional suspension by Nada, after receiving a notification of adverse analytical finding (AAF) on July 1, the 22-year-old Reetika, who competes in the women’s 76kg category, won silver at the Asian wrestling championships (March 25 to 30) in Amman, Jordan, and gold medals at the Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series (May 29 to June 1) in Mongolia and the World Military Championships (June 22 to 29) in Warendorf, Germany.Failure to prove her innocence before Nada’s anti-doping disciplinary panel (ADDP) would result in all her competition results that came after her sample collection being declared as ‘null and void’. The two-time Asian medallist has already been serving a oneyear suspension since July 7, 2025, imposed by the United World Wrestling (UWW) after the wrestler’s sample showed higher testosterone levels and presence of prohibited substances in testing.The UWW’s suspension will last until July 7, 2026.A copy of Reetika’s AAF obtained by TOI revealed that her ‘A’ sample was tested at both the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) here and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada)-accredited Cologne facility in Rome for “testosterone and testosterone metabolite”. NDTL had sought a second opinion on Reetika’s sample and the Cologne lab confirmed the findings in line with the Indian facility.
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Her sample returned positive for S1.1 anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and was consistent with exogenous origin for “5a-androstane-3a, 17b-diol (SaAdiol) and 5b-androstane-3a, 17b-diol (5bAdiol)”. The wrestler hadn’t applied for the ‘Therapeutic Use Exemption’ (TUE) as per the AAF. Following her failure to appear for the ‘B’ sample testing, she has been served a formal notice of charge by Nada.“If you waive the right to have the ‘B’ sample analysed, the anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) will be confirmed. In such an event and, according to article 10.2, the period of ineligibility imposed for the violation of article 2.1 and 2.2 for a non-specified substance, shall be four years. All results obtained by you from (and including) the date of sample collection (i.e. 15.03.2025) until the date of provisional suspension shall also be disqualified with all resulting consequences, unless fairness requires otherwise,” the Nada notice read.Reetika was tested during a selection trial for the Asian wrestling championships at the Indira Gandhi (IG) stadium here on March 15. The wrestler from Haryana’s Rohtak was considered one of the strongest medal contenders for India at the wrestling Worlds scheduled to be held in Croatia in September.
