Shooter Ravi Kumar provisionally suspended after failing dope test

World Cup medal-winning rifle shooter Ravi Kumar, who has failed a dope test, says his is a case of inadvertent intake, an explanation he hopes would fetch him a lighter-than-expected punishment from the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). The 29-year-old Kumar, who has not been with the national team since the World Cup in Munich last May, is a bronze-winner from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the 2014 Asian Games in the 10m air rifle competitions. He tested positive for propranolol during a domestic competition in New Delhi.

The substance is used to treat high blood pressure and is on the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"I had taken the medicine to treat migraine inadvertently. It was after being prescribed by my doctor at home days before I was tested during the Kumar Surendra Nath Memorial Meet in May-June," Kumar told PTI.