KUALA LUMPUR: The Anti- Doping Agency of Malaysia (Adamas) has denied allegations from certain quarters that it practised ‘discrimination’ in carrying out random doping tests among the country’s elite athletes.
Adamas Unit chief at the National Sports Institute (ISN), Nishel Kumar said on the contrary, it would conduct doping tests on high-profile athletes who were said to have the potential to using banned substances as a ‘shortcut’ to achieve success.
“To say that Adamas only chooses certain athletes when conducting doping tests is not right.
As I have said before, we always pay serious attention to all types of sports in the country,” he told Bernama.
However, he confirmed that the agency paid special attention to four types of sports, namely bodybuilding, weightlifting, athletics and cycling as athletes in these sports had a higher chance of taking banned substances to enhance performance.
At the same time, Nishel said the majority of athletes in the country did not even refer to the ISN before taking nutritional supplements as was the case in two of the country’s elite athletes, namely Datuk Lee Chong Wei (Badminton) and national bodybuilder Sazali Samad.
Accordingly, he said the ISN would intensify doping tests on high-profile athletes next year to ensure they did not use banned substances, prior to participating in any tournament, especially at international level.
Meanwhile, Sazali who was contacted by Bernama, declined to elaborate on the four-year suspension imposed on him by the Malaysian Bodybuilding Federation after he failed a doping test conducted by Adamas on Sept 1.
“All of this is a test from Allah for me…I wish to be given some time to clear my thoughts before providing further comment,” said the Johor-born, who is a 10-time Mr Universe title holder.
Sazali became the latest athlete to fail a doping test conducted by the ISN.
Chong Wei also tested positive for a banned substance called dexamethasone, and was banned for eight months by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after failing a doping test at the 2014 World Championships.
Other athletes who have failed doping tests are wushu athlete Tai Cheau Xuen, track cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom, as well as weightlifters Mohd Azril Huzairi Ramli and Jelinie Empera. — Bernama