Singapore para-sprinter suspended after positive dope test
Mohammad Khairi Ishak will not race in Commonwealth Games
Singapore para-sprinter Mohammad Khairi Ishak, has been provisionally suspended after a positive doping test.
The move means the 28-year-old will not race in today's men's T47 100m final at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
The news of Khairi's violation - believed to be a first by a national para athlete - cast a pall over celebrations as Singapore shooter Martina Veloso won her - and the Republic's - second gold at the Games. It brings the country's tally to two gold, one silver and one bronze.
According to Anti-Doping Singapore (ADS), Khairi, 28, had tested positive for methandienone, an anabolic steroid, in an out-of-competition test on March 12.
Last night, ADS held a two-hour hearing at its National Stadium offices to hear the case. A three-man panel will decide whether or not to impose a formal suspension on him. The decision is expected in a few days.
After he emerged from the hearing, Khairi told The Straits Times: "I received the Sample A result in early April, and I was surprised that I have a banned substance inside my body. I cannot recall what I took that would (result) in me failing my doping test.
"I'm confused and also a bit let down because I am not able to compete at the Commonwealth Games."
Khairi, who last underwent a doping test before the 2014 Asean Para Games, added that he had received the result of the B sample on April 7, two days before he was due to depart for Australia.
He said he consumes three supplements - protein whey isolate, fish oil and creatine monohydrate - and had shown the panel all the supplements he uses.He insisted that he does not use traditional or herbal supplements.
Khairi, whose right hand was paralysed after a motorcycle crash in 2011, had won a silver (T46 100m) and bronze (T46 200m) at last year's Beijing World Para Athletics Grand Prix and represented Singapore at the 2014 and 2017 Asean Para Games.
Mr Kevin Wong, Singapore Disability Sports Council president, told ST: "It's the responsibility of every athlete to be mindful of what they consume. If they are not sure, they should avoid (it) and seek clarification."
This is not the first time a Singapore athlete has failed a drug test. In 2013, former silat world champion Saiedah Said was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substances Nor-Sibutramine and OH-Nor Sibutramine, which are appetite suppressors.
A year before, seven Singapore bodybuilders were slapped with two-year bans after testing positive for prohibited drugs in a local competition.
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