Cmo pardiwala

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya: The chief medical officer (CMO) of the Indian contingent at the Commonwealth Games 2026, Dr. Pardiwala, termed doping a 'menace' that must be rooted out to protect the country's global sporting reputation. He also highlighted the grave risk of inadvertent doping, revealing that a staggering 90% of over-the-counter supplements contain contaminants.

His warnings come at a time when Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently revealed in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha that India has already recorded 78 doping cases as of July 15, 2026, with Uttar Pradesh and Punjab accounting for the largest share, with 13 violations each. This follows 131 total cases in 2025, 260 cases in 2024, and 213 cases in 2023.

"I think, you know, doping is a menace in sports, and we have to somehow root it out. Doping at the end of the day is cheating, and as Indians we don't want to be known as cheaters. Now typically, you know, you're going to have one bad apple and that one bad apple is going to, you know, spoil the reputation of an entire country," Dr Pardiwala told IANS in an exclusive interview.