India's decathlete Jagtar Singh fails dope test

Bhubaneswar: India's leading decathlete Jagtar Singh has been tested positive for a banned substance.

Jagtar, who appeared to give the urine sample at the Federation Cup in Patiala on June 2, has been tested positive for Meldonium. He will now face automatic suspension pending a hearing, according to National Anti- Doping Agency (NADA).

The 23-year-old from Rajasthan has been put under provisional suspension will not be participating in the 22nd Asian athletics championships being held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

He now faces the prospect of being banned for a maximum period of four years for a first-time dope offence if his confirmatory 'B' sample test also returns positive.

This is the second time after Jitin Paul when an athlete has been found positive with Meldonium.

Meldonium came into spotlight last year after Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova tested positive for it.It came into the list of banned substances in 2015.