The three wrestling cases are part of a much wider doping cloud that has followed Indian athletes from the Commonwealth Games into the Asian Games build-up. (PTI Photo)With just 10 days to go for the Asian Games, India’s preparations for the continental event have suffered another doping blow, with Greco-Roman wrestler Deepak becoming the latest member of the Nagoya-bound contingent to test positive for a prohibited substance.The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) provisionally suspended Deepak, who was set to compete in the 67kg category, on Wednesday after a positive test. His sample was collected during the Asian Games selection trials in Lucknow on May 31.Deepak is the third wrestler to have tested positive after Greco-Roman grappler Deepanshu (130kg) and freestyle competitor Mukul Dahiya (86kg) were suspended. India will now be unrepresented in three wrestling weight categories at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.The Wrestling Federation of India had named 16 wrestlers for the Asian Games across men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s categories. India had won six wrestling medals — one silver and five bronze — at the previous edition in Hangzhou.The three wrestling cases are part of a much wider doping cloud that has followed Indian athletes from the Commonwealth Games into the Asian Games build-up. There have been almost a dozen athletes caught up in anti-doping cases or proceedings in recent months, across sports including weightlifting, judo, wrestling, athletics, shooting, rowing and wushu.The problem was evident in Glasgow as well. Four Indian weightlifters selected for the Commonwealth Games were removed from the 16-member squad after failing dope tests, while two judokas were also withdrawn. Arun Kumar was removed after an adverse analytical finding, while Birmingham 2022 silver medallist Tulika Maan was withdrawn after three whereabouts failures in 12 months.The cases have continued into the Asian Games build-up. Long-distance runner Abhishek Pal, selected for the 5,000m and 10,000m, was removed from India’s athletics squad after receiving a NADA notice over a suspected anti-doping violation. Wushu’s Surya Bhanupratap Singh, a 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist, was also provisionally suspended after testing positive for a prohibited substance, ruling him out of Nagoya.Story continues below this adAlso on Tuesday, a 17-year-old swimmer, who was one of the prospective participants at the 2026 Asian Games, was suspended for 18 months after testing positive for a banned substance.The swimmer, who cannot be named as he is a minor and whose brother remains a part of the Asian Games squad, has been suspended after his sample showed the presence of terbutaline, a beta-2 agonist banned under anti-doping rules.The latest cases come against the backdrop of India’s wider anti-doping record. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) testing figures, India recorded 260 adverse findings in 2024. It was the third consecutive year that the country earned the dubious distinction of topping the global list.During his visit to New Delhi earlier this year, WADA president Witold Banka held meetings with the Central Bureau of Investigation to try and eliminate the initial supply chain of racketeers and agents who supply drugs to athletes.Story continues below this adHe had also warned Indian officials that the country’s poor anti-doping record was a threat to their Olympic hosting bid for 2036.“The biggest producer of performance-enhancing drugs and steroids is in India. There is a serious problem and nobody is blind to it but at the same time, India has aspirations of hosting the World Championships of different sports and also the Olympics, which is obviously not possible without WADA compliance,” Banka had said. “To realise that vision, there are efforts to address this problem and I believe the efforts have been sincere.”