WADA is appealing a decision to clear Inderjeet Singh of a doping offence ©Getty Images

A decision to clear Indian shot putter Inderjeet Singh of a doping offence has been appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

WADA confirmed it would contest the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) ruling on Singh, which effectively exonerated him and allowed the 2014 Asian Games bronze medallist to return to competition.

It marks the latest in a controversial case, which stretches back to July 2016, when Singh was given a four-year ban after he tested positive for prohibited steroids androsterone and etiocholanolon.

He had qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by that time but his failure, which he put down to his supplements and water being sabotaged, brought an end to his chances of participating.

Singh's suspension was only confirmed following a drawn-out appeal process in July 2018 but concerns were raised about the quality of the testing and analysis process at the country's National Dope Test Laboratory.

The 30-year-old and his lawyer, Anish Dayal, questioned the legitimacy of the testing process, alleging the mandatory consent for having the sample tested at the laboratory had not been given.

Inderjeet Singh, right, won Asian Games bronze in Incheon in 2014 ©Getty Images
Inderjeet Singh, right, won Asian Games bronze in Incheon in 2014 ©Getty Images

Dayal argued that a doping control officer took the sample home and stored it in a refrigerator before taking it to an India National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) office, rather than the laboratory.

Dayal claimed no mention had been made detailing how the integrity of the sample had been maintained during its transport in supposedly extreme temperatures.

It was also claimed that there were deviations in the analysis results of the A and B samples, which are claimed to make the findings unreliable.

A NADA panel agreed with the concerns over testing and analysis of the samples raised by the athlete but did not clear Singh and his four-year ban was upheld.

The ADAP has since ruled that there were enough discrepancies and issues to bring an early end to his ban.

Singh had been suspended for over two years before the ADAP decision and made his first appearance since 2016 at the recent Indian Grand Prix series in Patiala.

Should WADA win its appeal at CAS, Singh would almost certainly miss the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as his initial four-year suspension does not end until July 2020, just a month before the start of the event in the Japanese capital.