The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the independent anti-corruption and anti-doping arm of World Athletics, has elevated India to its "Category A" designation — reserved for nations deemed at "extremely high" risk of doping — after the country ranked among the top two for anti-doping rule violations in athletics between 2022 and 2025. India's Athletics Federation of India (AFI) now joins Russia, Belarus, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Ukraine in the bracket, meaning Indian athletes must comply with significantly tougher anti-doping requirements. The move carries broader implications for India's international sporting ambitions: the country is set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and is bidding for the 2036 Olympics, and an IOC delegation last year urged Indian officials to curb the doping problem as a condition of advancing that bid.