Doping in sports: A serious issue

Doping has been an issue in the sports world for quite some time now. It isn’t contained in mainstream sports but has spread throughout. Sports activities aren’t treated as fun or leisure activities anymore. They have been turned into a way of life. This has seriously increased the feeling of competition amongst athletes. They don’t feel that their “natural abilities” will get them to the top. Many athletes under this impression have started doping as a means to cope up with stress as well as to emerge victorious in sports. 

So what does doping mean exactly? 

When an athlete consumes any manner of drugs to improve his/her abilities as a player, it is known as doping. Many athletes around the world have been accused of and caught doping in order to increases their capabilities. These performance-enhancing drugs make us question the capabilities of the athlete. We lose faith over them altogether. This has been a huge problem since the 1960s. One positive doping case would make us skeptical of everyone and that is a matter of sadness.

I think one of the most well-known cases of doping was that of Lance Armstrong. He was an American cyclist and only one to ever win seven Tour De France titles. SEVEN! Unbelievable, right? But the awe was short-lived as he was later stripped of all his titles. It was revealed after an investigation that he was a key player in a doping conspiracy all the while he was winning those titles. He was not only guilty of possession but also distribution. Everything that he worked so for, his titles and trophies, were snatched away from him in an instant. Everyone agrees that he could have had a fulfilling career in the future if only he hadn’t turned towards doping. 

Last year in India Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw failed a dope test and was banned for 8 months. Yusuf Pathan was similarly banned for five months. Narsingh Yadav was banned for four years after testing positive for methandienone, a banned steroid. In 2000, Seema Punia had a positive test for banned substances. She was stripped of her gold medal won during Chile’s event. 

You might think losing their trophies and careers is bad enough, but it isn’t the only negative impact on their lives. Doping affects you both mentally and physically. Abuse of such drugs can lead to severe side effects like liver cancer, and heart strokes. Some have even resulted in death. They severely affect the hormones in the body and can cause infertility, breast development, and testicular cancer in males. In females, it can cause masculinization and loss of scalp hair but an increase in body hair. 

You also lose your social credibility. As a recognized athlete, you have a hold over young impressionable minds. They might think your habits are ‘cool’ or ‘ acceptable’. That holds true for doping as well. It puts a deeply negative impact on the minds of those youngsters who look up to you. You will most definitely lose the respect of those around you.

I think with so much negativity to doping, it should be dealt with more seriousness and regulations.