NEW DELHI: The Australian national team was on Sunday thrown out the kabaddi “World Cup” in India after failing multiple drugs tests as the tournament struggles to overcome a series of doping scandals.

The event, being held in the northern state of Punjab, has brought 14 teams together from across the world to play the popular and highly physical South Asian game, which mixes tag with wrestling.

The “World Cup” — which is not officially recognised as there is no international governing body for the sport — has so far seen 29 players test positive for banned substances since it began on November 1.

Five Australians failed dope tests and two others refused to give urine samples, leaving the country unable to field a team for their match against Afghanistan on Saturday.

“Five of Australia’s players tested positive in anti-dope tests and two absconded maybe out of fear of facing such a test,” organising secretary Pargat Singh told AFP.

“Since eight players have to be on the ground, Australia failed to have a quorum at a group stage match yesterday and so have been disqualified. They are out of the tournament.”

Afghanistan were awarded the match in a walkover.

Kabaddi players from Canada, Britain, the United States, Norway, Spain and India have been among those to have failed drug tests.

US team member Manjinder Singh allegedly tried to substitute his urine samples with water and verbally abused National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) staff when he was caught, the Times of India reported.

“With so many players caught in (the) doping net, it will be set a good precedent for next year,” NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar told the Times.

“But at the same time it leaves many questions unanswered on the fair play in the tournament. Doping is nothing but cheating. I don’t know what organisers are going to do about it in this year’s event.”

Officials declined to identify the banned substances but press reports said some were for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.

Kabaddi involves an individual player raiding the opposition team’s territory while chanting “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” until he runs out of breath.

His opponents, who generally hold hands, try to snare him and stop him from returning to his home base.

Group stages of the World Cup are due to be completed on Wednesday, with India among the favourites to win the finals at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana on November 20.

Arch-rivals Pakistan lodged a complaint last week after members of the US team — that they lost to 39-43 — gave positive tests.

The tournament is also running a women’s event involving four national sides.