• Elso Frediani, former Directeur Sportif for the Altopack cycling team, has been sanctioned with a 30 year ban, Italy’s national anti-doping agency (NADO Italia) announced. Police began investigating the u23 team in 2017, following the death of 21 year old Linus Rumšas in 2017 from a heart attack. As reported in February, four members of Rumšas’s family had been implicated in doping, and a number of Altopack team members have already been sanctioned with lengthly bans. In a separate case, Luigi Sfragara has been sanctioned with a 15 year ban. It is understood that the 31 year old was arrested in July 2018 after police discovered over 3,000 vials and 500 tablets of anabolic and other doping substances, with a potential value of over €1 million. 

• India’s national anti-doping agency (NADA) India has confirmed that a weightlifter, a boxer, and a track and field athlete have been sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs). Mr. Madhavan, a weightlifter, has been sanctioned with a four year ban for an ADRV involving phentermine and mephentermine; and Ms. Ruchinka, a boxer, has been sanctioned with a two year ban for an ADRV involving furosemide. Ms. Prachi, a track and field athlete, has been sanctioned with a four year ban for an ADRV involving oxandrolone. 

Mr. Madhavan R. of Weightlifting Discipline was found positive for a prohibited substance Phentermine & Mephentermine. ADDP has imposed a sanction of 4Years ineligibility on him.@Media_SAI

— NADA India (@NADAIndiaOffice) March 9, 2021

Ms.Ruchika of Boxing discipline was found positive for prohibited substance Furosemide. ADDP has imposed a sanction of 2 years ineligibility on her.@BFI_official @Media_SAI

— NADA India (@NADAIndiaOffice) March 9, 2021

Ms.Prachi of Athletics discipline tested dope positive of probhibited substance Oxandrolone. ADDP imposed 4 years of ineligibility on her. @afiindia @sai

— NADA India (@NADAIndiaOffice) February 23, 2021

• Sambo athlete Deborah Georgieva (Дебора Георгиева) has been provisionally suspended following an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for amphetamine, the Bulgarian anti-doping centre’s (BADC) updated sanction list reveals. Georgieva was tested on 28 February and her AAF was confirmed on 16 March.

• Shaiman Anwar Butt plans to appeal against an eight year ban issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this week, reports The National. It is understood that although he admits failure to report a corrupt approach, he denies conspiring to fix matches.

• British Judo is investigating allegations of bullying. ‘We are conducting a full independent investigation, in accordance with internal procedures, into the allegations made’, read a short statement. ‘British Judo will not be making any further comment at this time due to it being an ongoing process’.