China bans 12 weightlifters for doping offenses
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-06-25 00:05

China showed its zero tolerance to doping offense on Friday by handing two-year bans to twelveweightlifters from Hubei Province and a lifetime ban to theircoaches.

The suspension came about four months before the country'stenth National Games in Jiangsu Province, East of China, which has been billed as the mini-Olympics of Chinese sports.

"The fight against doping has a lot of bearing on whether thenational games could be successful," according to a statement from the Chinese State General Administration of Sports.

"It is also related to the reputation of Chinese sports andBeijing Olympics. We must be resolutely against any dopingbehavior."

The anti-doping committee of the Chinese Olympic Committee ( COC) sent staff to inspect the training base of Hubei women'sweightlifting team after receiving tips in late January that sixweightlifters collectively used banned substances.

To cover up their doping offenses, head coach Xi Hanxiang andcoach Liu Shaojun had false identity cards of the involved sixweightlifters forged by using the photos of other weightlifters,who misrepresented the former six to take the doping testsrequired by the COC.

The six weightlifters tested by the COC also received atwo-year ban. Hubei weightlifting teams, both men's and women's,were disqualified for the tenth national games as well as bannedfrom any events at home and abroad for one year. Xi and Liu werebaned for lifetime from acting as coaches.

China has stepped up its campaign against doping, asout-of-competition tests total 5,000 each year with particularattention to weightlifting, athletics and swimming, those sportsliable to doping. The tests on weightlifters by the COC reachedbetween 700 and 800 last year.

The Chinese government also implemented its first anti-dopinglaw in March 2004 to tighten controls over banned drugs and doleout criminal penalties to serious offenders

"Despite the anti-doping law, some local teams still sailedagainst the wind to enhance their performance by improper means,"said Zhao Jian, a senior official of the COC anti-dopingcommittee.

"The fight against doping is far from letting up, instead wemust step up the campaign against doping," he added.

Chinese Weightlifting Association (CWA) is also committed tothe anti-doping fight, saying that they would work along with theCOC in the relentless fight against doping.

"We will never tolerate any doping offenses, in particularthose who dope despite any serious warnings," said CWA generalsecretary Dong Shenghui.

CWA had banned two other provincial teams for one year aftermore than two positive cases were reported respectively in theteams within a period of one year.

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