The 23-year-old sprinter, part of the 4x100 metres relay team that won bronze in New Delhi in October behind England and Jamaica, tested positive for nandralone in an out-of-competition test last month.

The sample was collected by the Athletics Federation of·India (AFI) on November 14, but the positive result was not confirmed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) until November 23.

That was a day before Sathya competed at the Asian Games in Guangzhou,·China, and the Indian authorities failed to prevent him competing.

Sathya won a 200m heat in Guangzhou in a personal best 21.02sec and finished sixth in the final in 21.07 the next day.

He was also part of the 4x100m relay team that finished fourth, missing the bronze by one-hundredth of a second.

Sathya was part of a squad of Indian sprinters that was sent to Ukraine for "specialised" training prior to the Commonwealth Games.

If the B-sample confirms the result of the A-sample then Sathya faces the prospect of a two-year suspension from athletics, which would mean he would miss the London 2012 Olympics.

All the results of Sathya including those in the relays, from the date the test was conducted, will be annulled but India's medal in the Commonwealth Games will not be affected.

Sathya is the second Indian athlete to fail a test for nandrolone, following Rani Yadav, who tested positive for the steroid after finishing sixth in the 20 kilometres walk at the Commonwealth Games.


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