The Badminton Association of Malaysia has confirmed that it was one of their shuttlers, who failed a dope test at a major tournament in late August.
This was the first official announcement made by the association on the issue, during an emergency council meeting over the weekend.
The athlete in question, which is heavily rumoured to be badminton’s world number 1 Lee Chong Wei, has already requested for a second test, which will be carried out on either November 4th or 5th at a lab in Oslo, Norway.
The banned substance taken is said to be Dexamethasone, a painkiller usually taken to aid an athlete’s rehabilitation.
In the meantime, BAM says it will not reveal the identity of the shuttler, until the B sample results are out.
Only one Malaysian shuttler has tested positive before, during the 1995 Chiang Mai SEA Games. Women’s doubles player, Lee siew May, who was 17 then, tested positive for pseudo-ephedrine, and was banned from the sport for two years.
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