Myanmar weightlifter Kyi Kyi Than failed a doping test and has been kicked out of the Asian Games, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced yesterday, but denied the sport should be dumped.
Than, who finished fourth in the women's 48kg category, tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide.
It is the first positive result of the Games from 630 tests related to the event conducted so far.
"The OCA wishes to announce that it has disqualified an athlete for anti-doping rule violations," OCA director-general Husain al-Musallem told a press conference.
"The athlete was Kyi Kyi Than from Myanmar in weightlifting in the 48kg category. She placed fourth," al-Musallem said.
Than failed the dope test on Dec. 2 and waived her right to have her B sample tested.
She faces further investigation by the International Weightlifting Federation governing authority.
Al-Musallem said he knew of no other positive tests up till yesterday.
"There are none to my knowledge. This is the only confirmed case so far," he said, adding that despite another positive drug test the OCA had no plans to dump the weightlifting from the Asian Games.
"Weightlifting is on the Asian Games and Olympic Games program and if there is an individual act, we cannot punish all athletes worldwide based on an individual act," he said.
"We disqualified the athlete here. The rest is up to the International Weightlifting Federation, but the Asian Games will not kick out the sport of weightlifting," he added.
Weightlifting, along with bodybuilding and wrestling, have chequered doping histories.
In particular, weightlifting has been hit hard by scandals this year, with the entire Indian team slapped with a 12-month ban from competition for doping offences.
The ban is effective until March next year after two male lifters, Edwin Raju and Tejinder Singh, tested positive during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March.
Two women, Prameelavalli Bodari and Shailaja Pujari, failed pre-Games tests and were banned by India from traveling with the team.
All four were banned for life by the Indian weightlifting federation.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS