11 December,2019 04:40 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Suniel Shetty
Yesterday, Suniel Shetty was appointed brand ambassador of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). He has been roped in to clean up the menace from sports. "I have lived a drug-free life. I am fit and have played several sports," said Shetty.
More than 150 athletes have failed dope tests this year though bodybuilders make up more than one-third of these offenders. This is not a welcome sign with less than eight months to go for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The suspension of National Anti-Doping Laboratory by the WADA earlier this year is another issue facing the country now that dope samples collected by the National Anti-Doping Agency from the athletes will have to be tested outside India. This has raised concerns about whether India may be able to test enough number of athletes in the coming months ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
NADA Director General Navin Agarwal said that Shetty's celebrity status will give him more "clout" and "reach" than a former or a current sportsperson.
"We thought that an actor of the status of Suniel Shetty will be able to send out message to shun doping, that doping is not good for themselves and for the country. We felt that celebrities will have more outreach to the masses of the country as they have a lot of following," Agarwal told PTI.
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