He was looking forward to a much needed break at his home in Nashik, having grinded out at the NIS Patiala for months when a fellow weightlifter at the airport quipped, “Just so you know, a coach at the national camp in Patiala wants you out.”

At first, the 19-year-old Pardeshi was in disbelief. It was only when the weightlifter, a fellow competitor, showed him chats and recordings of what was transpiring behind his back did Pardeshi realise that his colleague wasn’t joking.

“He showed me chats, where the coach was plotting to get me framed for doping,” recalled Pardeshi in a conversation with Read.

“She was openly telling my competitors to somehow inject something in my body,” he added.

When Pardeshi returned to NIS Patiala after a break, another weightlifter narrated the same story. This was someone, who lived in the room opposite to his in the prestigious hostel.

Pardeshi realised that he had to take matters into his own hands. On October 24, he wrote to the Indian Weightlifting Federation, Sports Authority of India, and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), informing them about the plot to frame him in the dope net.

Two days later, his blood and urine samples were taken. He returned negative.

However, things took a turn in February earlier this year. His samples, taken in a test conducted on December 24, 2025 showed traces of Mesterolone – an anabolic steroid used to increase testosterone levels.

Pardeshi was placed under provisional suspension and had to skip the 2026 National Weightlifting Championships in Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh. He appealed the suspension in a National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) Panel, but was shot down.

While Pardeshi is now back home in Nashik, the coach he is accusing of continues to actively guide athletes in competition.

“She was telling athletes at the National Championships that, ‘He (Sairaj) has still not learnt his lesson. If he doesn’t back down, I’ll show him who I really am,’” said Pardeshi.

Pardeshi claims that people have turned on him. The weightlifter who showed him chats at the airport in September didn’t agree to share it with him. He, instead, threatened him to not reveal his name during the investigation.

“I had filed the complaint in October, yet neither the Weightlifting Federation nor the SAI have given me any outcome or solution,” he said.

“I had explicitly mentioned in the complaint months before the test that they are plotting to frame me.

“The NADA panel told me the drug found inside my body has been taken orally and not injected. I stay in a hostel with 300+ athletes out of which a few already knew about the conspiracy. We don’t have a private mess or water cooler at the hostel…any of them could have mixed anything in my plate or water,” a helpless Pardeshi added.

He was tested six times in 2025, including the final test on 24 December which proved decisive. All his tests prior to it, including after his Commonwealth Championships win and the one immediately after he approached SAI and federation had returned negative.

Since Pardeshi appealed his suspension, he has been receiving threat calls from strangers.

“Around 10 days after I appealed my suspension in a NADA Panel, I started receiving threat calls,” he said.

“These are calls from random numbers, asking me to take a step back. They tell me that I won’t be able to do anything since the drug was found in my body,” he added.

Pardeshi, one of India’s brightest medal hopes for the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, now stands at a crossroads. The fact that he finds himself in the pickle at a time when both World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has slapped India on the wrist about the rising doping cases, doesn’t help either.

Just on Wednesday, the NADA issued a statement asking athletes to remain vigilant.

“Under the principle of strict liability, athletes are accountable for any prohibited substance found in their body, regardless of intent or source,” a social media post from NADA read.

“A simple mistake can lead to serious consequences,” it added.

Pardeshi is currently facing the consequences. He maintains that he is innocent.

“I’ll fight this till the end,” he said. “I know that I haven’t taken anything willingly. I am being framed.”