Eight more athletes likely to face two-year ban

Eight athletes failed the dope tests and will be facing a 2-year ban if they are unable to explain drugs usage.

KARACHI: The Athletic Federation of Pakistan secretary Khalid Mehmood has said that the eight athletes, who failed the dope tests conducted after the National Athletes Championship, will be facing a two-year ban if they are unable to explain why they took the identified drugs.

“We have a very strict anti-doping policy since 2005,” Mehmood told The Express Tribune. “These athletes know about the policy, it is nothing new and if they
still use drugs to enhance their performance they are stealing somebody else’s place.

“They are likely to be banned for two years because there is no excuse for using illegal substances.”

The committee will hold a hearing from the athletes on August 23 before a final decision is taken.

The athletes who failed the dope test include Nadia Nazir, Rozina Shafqat and Shagufta Nureen, Zara Razzaq, Olympian Sumaira Zahoor, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Imran and Asif Javaid.

Previously, the anti-doping disciplinary committee had also handed out two-year bans to sprinters Sadaf Siddiqui and Javeria Hassan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2010.