Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has appealed for a re-investigation on track cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus’ doping case.
The 19 year-old rider has been handed an 18 month suspension for using anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone, during the Malaysian Games last year.
That was the similar substance Lee Chong Wei consumed at the BWF World Championship in Copenhagen last August, leading to his eight months suspension from the game.
Mohd Shah though, claims that he is innocent and that the only possible explanation for his consumption of the drug, would be an injection that he received from the National Sports Institute (NSI) medical team during the Asian Championship in Kazakhstan
But according to reports from the New Straits Times, the NSI’s standard operating procedure (SOP) does not feature the inclusion of dexamethasone in their medical kits
“So, if that is the injection that he is referring to, as far as we know the NSI medical team do not carry dexamethasone.” Khairy told NST.
“So, there is an issue now of where it came from.”
The 19 year-old cyclist will be facing the Malaysian National Cycling Federation’s (MNCF) anti-doping committee for an appeal on the 9th of May.
Photo credit: www.trackcyclingnews.com
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