#doping.

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Malaysians rally behind Chong Wei as doping hearing goes into first day

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12, 2015:

As Datuk Lee Chong Wei enters into his first day of his doping violation hearing, it was evident that Malaysia is still in love with the nation No. 1 shuttler.

According to several news reports, the Perak-born ace’s hearing could go on for days.

Lee, however, can count on netizens here who took to Twitter to express their support.

Hanief Nazmi ‏wrote: “All the best Dato’ Lee Chong Wei #chongweibwf”.

Twitter user with the handle@luvjaeji said: “Pray for the best for @LeeChongWei !! Wanna see him in court again”.

Beth Lim tweeted that Malaysians were praying “very hard”.

Another, who went with the handle ‏@bontermgraphy hoped that Lee’s case would end well.

Albert Bingkasan, meanwhile, said that the nation was “united in prayers”.

Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin tweeted that Lee was in “good spirits” after speaking to the latter.

The former badminton world No. 1 is attending the hearing at the Sheraton Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Lee might face a ban of up to two years for failing a dope test during the World Championships at Copenhagen last August.

His urine sample tested positive for the banned anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone at the Championships, where he lost to China`s Chen Long in the final.

Lee had been reported saying that he would retire if he were banned for two years.

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We have to be more vigilant, says Khairy on doping

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19, 2015:

There are those who cheat and there are those who take it accidentally.

In defending the image of the country’s sports following a couple of high-profile doping scandals, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin admitted there was a lack of awareness on the athletes’ part.

He told The Rakyat Post that more needed to be done to avoid similar events taking place.

“Right now, we have seminars and talks for the athletes to make sure that they do not put anything in their bodies and mouth, or inject anything that’s not given by the national sports institute.

“We have to be more vigilant, I’ve tried to strengthen our Doping Agency of Malaysia (ADAMAS) to make sure the coaches, players and athletes are better educated and that they understand the world anti-doping agency’s code for doping is much more stringent now”.

The current code stipulates an automatic ban of four years. Khairy said it was a matter that needed to be taken seriously.

The Rembau lawmaker pointed out that drugs and dropping in sports had existed for a long time and was an international problem.

He said there were those who accidentally consumed banned substances and it was unfair to say that all those tested positive cheated.

“Sometimes we have to be fair to the athletes and allow them the room for mitigation.

This was why the ministry was trying to review Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s punishment as they believed the national ace did not know what he was taking.

Lee tested positive for dexamethasone during a doping test at the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Aug 30 last year.

Wushu gold medalist Tai Cheau Xuen, Khairy argued did not intentionally consume any performance enhancing substance.

“She bought a drink online, a slimming drink which contained a dosage of sibutramine and she got caught.”

Tai  was stripped of the Asian Games gold medal she won in September last year, after the banned stimulant was found in her system.

Khairy, a sportsman himself, added that those involved in the national sport industry had their work cut out for them as the industry had been going through a “downward trend”.

“We have a lot of work to do. I think sport over the last five to 10 years has been on a downward trend as the improvements that we saw in 1998 after the Commonwealth games was not sustainable. So what I’ve tried to do is address the system and its structure.”

For the next five years, Khairy said the ministry needed to focus more on development and managing talents as the nation was still reliant on Datuk Nicol Ann David and Lee.

“We have to start in school age groups clubs and development programmes. Some of our double players are coming through the ranks right now.

“We need to give them better exposure and improve their performance through sport science.”

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Chong Wei to retire if slapped with doping suspension

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26, 2015:

National shuttler, Datuk Lee Chong Wei yesterday said he would retire from badminton if he was slapped with a two-year suspension for alleged doping.

In an interview with the BBC, Lee, who tested positive for a banned substance last year when he was world number one, said he would, however, return to competition if his appeal was successful.

He was suspended after traces of banned anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone were found during a doping test conducted right after his semi-final match in the World Championships last year.

“If in the end I am suspended for two years, then I will not pursue my badminton career afterwards.

“But if my appeal is successful, I will return to competition, so I hope my fans will keep waiting for me.”

He also told BBC’s Jennifer Pak that when he went to a private hospital, no government doctors accompanied him and only his wife was with him.

“Only my wife was there when I received the treatment. I was given three shots. First I received a stem cell treatment to help me heal faster so I could compete.

“I just hope the Badminton World Federation will consider that this is the first urine test I did not pass.”

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Badminton champion Chong Wei's doping trial may be held next month

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7, 2015:

The trial of Malaysian badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s doping case might be set for early February after several postponements.

While a date has yet to be set, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) deputy president Datuk Mohamad Norza Zakaria said that they have applied to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to get a new date, reported Utusan Online.

According to the report, Norza also said that the 80-90% of evidence needed for Lee’s doping case hearing was already collected.

“BWF has approved our application for a new hearing date and it might be held early February,” he told the Malay daily.

Lee’s case hearing was initially scheduled to be held in Amsterdam on Dec 8, 2014, but it was postponed upon the request of the badminton champion’s lawyer Mike Morgan.

The report stated that it was later scheduled to Jan 12, before being postponed again.

In November, the BWF provisionally suspended the athlete after he tested positive for banned substance dexamethasone.

The dope test was taken after the semi-finals of the World Championships in Copenhagen on Aug 30, 2014.

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Malaysian Wushu exponent gets four month ban following doping scandal

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11, 2014:

Wushu’s international governing body has banned Malaysia’s Tai Cheau Xuen from competition for four months over a positive doping test at the recent Asian Games, the Wushu Federation of Malaysia said today.

Tai, who was stripped of the Asian Games gold medal she won in September, has been banned until March 20, 2015, after the banned stimulant sibutramine was found in her system following the competition in Incheon, South Korea, the federation said.

Tai has returned her gold medal.

The Malaysian governing body said it was informed of the ban in a letter received last week from the International Wushu Federation.

The Malaysia federation insisted Tai unwittingly ingested sibutramine via health supplements and a slimming product.

The head of the Wushu Federation of Malaysia at the time, Martin Lim, resigned to take responsibility for the doping scandal.

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Germany set to jail athletes found guilty of doping

BERLIN, Nov 12:

Germany is set to introduce a tough anti-doping law next year which would mean a prison sentence of up to three years for athletes found guilty of using doping products.

“The aim of the law is to preserve the integrity or sport and to combat doping,” said Germany’s Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere in a Berlin press conference.

The 46-page draft of the new law, which is set to be adopted in 2015, means for the first time athletes who have failed both the A and B doping test can be prosecuted.

Under the new law, possession of doping products would also be a punishable offence, regardless of the amount.

“That is a statement for clean sport and a challenge to those who dope,” added Germany’s minister of justice Heiko Maas.

“We believe that this is a milestone and the law has been long over-due.”

The proposal also includes a maximum sentence of up to 10 years, in extreme cases, for those found guilty of supplying athletes with doping substances.

The law will apply to around 7,000 sportsmen and women regularly tested by Germany’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) across a range of sports.

“We want to say this is not just something that concerns sport, but this is a punishable behaviour, which society as a whole believes should be punishable,” added De Maiziere.

The new law would also mean that data and documents from Germany’s courts or state prosecutors would have to be handed over to NADA on request.

The draft, however, lacks a principal regulation to counter a doping network, as in the case of former cyclist Lance Armstrong for example, and also under the new laws physicians could not be made to testify.

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Chong Wei fears world, Olympic chance gone

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12:

Lee Chong Wei fears he will never realise his dream of becoming world and Olympic champion after he was suspended for failing a drugs test, a report said Wednesday.

The world number one is temporarily barred from competition after testing positive to the banned anti-inflammatory dexamethasone, for which he could face an eventual suspension of up to two years.

“If I am suspended for a long time, it will affect my chances of becoming a world champion next year and also win the Olympic gold medal in 2016,” Chong Wei, 32, told the New Straits Times.

“It has always been my dream to win both titles. It is also the reason why I took up the sport.”

Despite topping the badminton rankings for years and reaching five world and Olympic finals, the popular Chong Wei, has never been able to win either of the sport’s two major prizes.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said Tuesday that Chong Wei was suspended “due to an apparent anti-doping regulation violation” while a panel considers whether he has committed an offence.

Chong Wei tested positive after giving urine samples at the BWF World Championships in August in Copenhagen, where he lost to China’s Chen Long in the final.

The 32-year-old, added that the turn of events felt like a “bad dream”, adding there was “no way” he could have taken the drug outside of the auspices of Malaysia’s National Sports Institute.

“I’ve been a national player under the BA of Malaysia (BAM) for 15 years and I am very particular about injuries,” he told the daily. “I always consult the National Sports Institute for advice.”

“There is no way I could have administered dexamethasone into my body by myself. I have lost big matches before but I always bounce back without fail,” said Chong Wei.

“Frankly, I still can’t believe what has happened to me.”

Badminton’s world body has not announced a date for its hearing into his case