Jan O Jorgenson hopes reports about Lee Chong Wei failing a dope test is nothing more than a “false alarm”. The world number 3 says he was shocked when he heard the news, and can’t even imagine if the rumours are true.
Meanwhile, former national badminton player, Razif Sidek told a Malaysian daily, that the positive doping results could be linked to a herbal medicine, though he’s uncertain if it contained banned ingredients.
According to Sidek, he had first heard rumours of several Badminton players getting injections involving Chinese herbal medicine, several years ago. He adds, that its possible the players did not know the full names of the medicines they take, which could result in positive results during random doping tests.
Sidek also called on the authorities to resolve this problem, to salvage the reputation of our national athletes. He fears that if the use of banned drugs is proven, it could prompt people to automatically assume Malaysian athletes resort to using banned drugs to win medals.
Former Badminton Association of Malaysia High Performance Director, James Selvaraj, however disagrees with Sidek’s claims. He says all national athletes already know beforehand of the rules and regulations of the National Sports Institute, which includes a specific list of medications to prevent the intake of banned drugs.
This, as the NSI said the ‘top athlete’ involved in the scandal had been tested over 100 times throughout his career, and each time, coming out clean. An official with the Institute says its possible the athlete simply did not know, rather than had the intention to cheat.
Former Chinese National Badminton Captain, Li Weiguo also dismissed the possibility that Lee Chong Wei was the unnamed ‘top athlete’ linked to the doping scandal. He says that judging from the Malaysian ace’s recent performances at the BWF Championships and Asian Games, its highly unlikely he had used banned drugs to achieve that.
The World Anti-Doping Agency meanwhile told us, it cannot comment on any specific pending case. It adds, that a review would have to be conducted first, and the athlete in question also has the right to a fair hearing.
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