New Delhi, Oct 11: One of India's top performers in the recently concluded World Para Athletics Championships suffered a setback when the guide who helped her win two medals in the country's biggest para-sports event was provisionally suspended on Friday by the National Anti-Doping Authority (NADA), according to a media report.

NADA handed the provisional suspension to Umar Saifi for testing positive before the World Para Athletics Championship held from September 27 to October 5 in New Delhi.

Saifi guided star para-athlete Simran Sharma to gold in women's 100m and silver in 200m in the T12 class at India 2025. The T12 class is for athletes with moderate visual impairment, who may compete with or without a guide, according to a report in The New Indian Express

According to information updated on the NADA website, Saifi's urine sample contained the steroid Drostanolone in a test conducted before the World Championships. Saifi is himself a national-level U23 athlete.

Saifi's suspension also meant Simran is likely to be stripped of her two medals as the visually-impaired runner and guide is considered one team and therefore penalised as a team. This will also reduce India's medal tally as well as its standing in the ranking list.

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It also raised questions about how he could participate in the mega event despite failing a dope test.

The NADA announcement came just a day before the government was to organise a felicitation function to honour medal winners of the World Para Athletics Championships.

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, will be felicitating the World Para Athletics Championships medallists on Saturday. India bagged a total of 22 medals in the competition, which ended last Sunday.

The event to be held at the Dhyanchand National Stadium, New Delhi, was later converted into a closed-door affair -- no more open for the media to cover, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) informed late in the evening.

According to a report, the list of other dope offenders has been given to the Sports Ministry, with a senior Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) official recommending that all those mentioned in the list be avoided for felicitation.

(IANS)

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