World No.1 Lee hopes for ‘good results’

Source:Agencies Published: 2014-11-22 0:13:01

Badminton world No.1 Lee Chong Wei is confident his name will be cleared following his provisional suspension by the sport's governing body (BWF) for an anti-doping ­violation.

Speaking to reporters in Bangkok on Friday, Lee said he was not at fault and would wait for a BWF panel decision next month.

"I am very confident that this case is not my fault," Lee told a news conference. "I must stay strong. Everybody has been messaging me to stay strong. I'm waiting to hear good results next month."

Lee, who won silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, faces a two-year ban should he fail with his appeal.

The Malaysian would also be stripped of the silver medal he won at the world championships in August in ­Copenhagen, the location of the failed test.

Earlier this month the BWF said in a statement, "The world governing body has imposed this suspension due to an Adverse Analytical Finding of a sample taken at the BWF World Championships in August."

Lee, whose 55 global titles and Olympic silver medals have made him Malaysia's leading sportsman, was found to have traces of the banned anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone in his system during the world championships in Denmark.

Former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat warned other badminton players to take extra care over their diet and supplements after Lee's incident.

The retired Indonesian said Lee probably took the drug by mistake, but that he should still have been aware of what was going into his body.

"I just can't believe it until now. I'm not sure that he did it in purpose. Maybe there was a mistake when he was still receiving medication for his injury," Hidayat said, according to the Jakarta Globe.

"A world-class player like him should have known what he consumed, what went into his body."

"Athletes must be aware of many things, not only their daily training. They should know what they eat, what they drink," said Hidayat, who quit the sport last year.

"Once athletes take doping, there goes their name and achievements. Their years of hard work will vanish. Just look at what happened to Lance Armstrong."



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