Javelin thrower DP Manu has been banned for four years by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after testing positive for the prohibited substance methyltestosterone.

Manu, who won a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Championships and finished sixth at the Budapest World Championships - where Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal and Kishore Jena finished fifth, was tested during the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Bengaluru in April 2024, where he won the competition with a throw of 81.91m. NADA found traces of the anabolic-androgenic steroid in his sample.

The 25-year-old from Karnataka was also in the running for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics via the world rankings. But the provisional suspension meant he had to give up the dream.

Manu was added to the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) of the World Athletics’ Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for the first quarter of 2024. In April 2024, Manu’s sample was collected from the Indian Grand Prix 1 by NADA.

The sample was found positive for the banned substance under Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of NADA’s Anti-Doping Rules. These articles deal with the presence and use of a prohibited substance or method.

Following the test, Manu was provisionally suspended ahead of the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in June 2024, ruining his chances of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

Manu has a personal best effort of 84.35m, which he achieved at the Inter-State Championships in 2022. At the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, DP Manu finished fifth with a best effort of 82.28m.

The verdict in Manu's case was delivered on March 3, 2025. His ban will be effective retrospectively from June 24, 2024, ruling him out of competition until mid-2028, the year of the Los Angeles Olympics.

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