India have lost two judokas just days before they begin their Commonwealth Games 2026 campaign after being suspended by NADA.
Published: July 24, 2026, 5:09 PM IST
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Commonwealth Games 2026 Glasgow: The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games has just got underway in Glasgow, Scotland, and already India have been forced of withdraw two names from the original list of 126 athletes competing at the quadrennial event. Following the withdrawal of men’s judoka Arun Kumar earlier this week, India have suffered a big blow with former CWG silver medal-winning judoka Tulika Maan has also been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
Maan, who won the silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 in the +78kg category, has been suspended by NADA due to three whereabouts failure in the last 12 months. She has now been summoned by NADA and face a ban of up to two years.
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“She has committed three whereabouts failures in a 12-month period and NADA has sent notice to her. So, she will be withdrawn from the team,” a judo coach was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
Olympian judoka Tulika Maan has been provisionally suspended by NADA after three whereabouts failures, putting her Commonwealth Games 2026 campaign in serious doubt. pic.twitter.com/ryFexj6e4g
— Sports Apna (@sportsapna1) July 24, 2026
The 27-year-old from Delhi is the second judoka to have been withdrawn from Glasgow CWG 2026. On Thursday, Arun Kumar, who competes in the men’s 73kg category, was pulled out of the Games as well after failing an out-of-competition dope test. He has also been provisionally suspended by the NADA for testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
Maan is one of the most accomplished judokas in the country.
Why is Tulika Maan suspended by NADA?
Judoka Tulika Maan has been suspended for her failure to adhere to ‘Whereabouts Clause’ of NADA. A failure of this clause is an anti-doping rule compliance issue that includes filing failures and missed tests. A filing failure occurs when an athlete fails to submit or update mandatory location information for out-of-competition testing, while a missed test is recorded when a doping control officer is unable to locate the athlete during the declared 60-minute testing window. Any combination of three filing failures or missed tests within 12 months constitutes an anti-doping rule violation and carries a standard sanction of two years, unless successfully challenged.
Tulika had represented India in the Paris Olympics 2024, where she made an exit in the round of 32. She also took part in the 2022 and 2024 World Championships.
The Indian judo team haven’t left for the Glasgow yet as their competition schedule will kick off on July 31. The judokas are scheduled to depart on July 27. India had originally approved a 14-member judo team, featuring seven men and an equal number of women.
India had claimed three medals in the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games from the discipline. The six-member contingent that went to Birmingham in 2022 secured three medals – two silver, including one by Tulika Maan, and one bronze.
Athletes included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) must provide the full address for their overnight location, the name and full address of each location where they train, work or conduct other regular scheduled activities, as well as the usual time frame of each activity. RTP athletes must also identify a 60-minute window and location for each day of the quarter, during which they must be available for testing.
Swimmer Srihari Nataraj qualifies for 50m backstroke semifinal
India’s Srihari Nataraj brought some good news for the nation as he qualified for the men’s 50m backstroke semifinals, finishing joint 14th in heats in Glasgow on Friday. Nataraj, a two-time Olympian who holds multiple national records, clocked 25.52 seconds alongside Bermuda’s Jack Harvey, just about making the semifinal start list, which comprises the top 16 from heats.
The Indian was fifth in his eight-man heat. In para-swimming, India’s RVVBK Budigina and Imam Ali made the finals of 100m freestyle S13 event after all the eight swimmers who competed in the heats got through. While Budigina was third in the heats with a timing of 57.10sec, Ali was bottom of the heap with 1:05.32sec.
The S13 classification is for athletes with visual impairments.
