Hima Das' return imminent after NADA gives nod: Sources

Star India sprinter Hima Das will return to action at the Indian Grand Prix 1 on Tuesday in Bengaluru after a disciplinary panel of the National AntiDoping Agency NADA gave the green signal to her following a hearing last month according to sourcesThe 24yearold Hima was last year provisionally suspended by the NADA for three whereabout failures in 12 months Her name figured in the womens 200m race entry list for the Indian Grand Prix 1 on April 30 prepared by the Athletics Federation of IndiaShe was set free in a hearing by the NADA AntiDoping Disciplinary Panel last month an Indian athletics team source told PTI on conditions of anonymity The source did not elaborate about how the NADA disciplinary panel cleared her to compete againHima had won a 400m individual silver at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games She was also a part of the gold and silverwinning womens 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay quartets in JakartaThe runner from Assam was not named in the Hangzhou Asian Games team last year due to an injury she had sustained earlier this yearShe last ran a race a 200m during the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru in April last year where she won a gold with a time of 2377 seconds After that she missed the whole of 2023 seasonAlso Read Why sprinter Hima Das owes it to coach NiponIn September last year it had come to light that Hima committed three whereabout failures in a oneyear period and she was provisionally suspended by the NADAAt that time also there was no clarity on whether Himas whereabouts failure related to filing or missed testShe had faced a maximum twoyear ban if proven guilty which can be reduced to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of her faultUnder the World AntiDoping Agency WADA rules any combination of three whereabouts failures filing failure andor missed test within a period of 12 months constitute an antidoping rule violationAthletes included in the Registered Testing Pool RTP must provide 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 timeframes of each activityRTP athletes must also identify a 60minute window and location for each day of the quarter during which they must be available for testing Failure to comply with whereabouts and testing obligations will result in a whereabouts failureA lowerback problem has been troubling Hima for the past few years Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had earlier said that Hima had suffered a hamstring injury too in April last year just before a Grand Prix event in Bengaluru and she has been on medical investigation and treatmentThat was why Hima missed the Federation Cup and the National InterState Championship in 2023 which was the final selection event for the Hangzhou Asian GamesWith agency inputs