By Qiu Wei

China's sports authorities refused Tuesday to believe a claim by sprinter Wang Jing that she was set up in a drug scandal, but they stressed that the reported lifetime ban from the tracks wouldn't be determined until an investigation is completed.

"Wang's competition results and qualifications were stripped, and the final penalty will be assessed after further investigation," Shen Chunde, deputy director of the Chinese Athletics Administration Center (CAAC), told the Global Times. The investigation may take a month.

Wang tested positive for the steroid epitestosterone and related metabolites following her 100-meter victory Thursday at the National Games in Shangdong province. Before the result was made public, Wang was banned from running in Sunday's 200-meter final.

Wang, 21, has denied that she knowingly took any banned substances.

"I wouldn't risk my career for just a National Games medal," Wang said. "The substances stay in your body for months. I'm not that stupid."

She said it must have been a setup by someone to take her down.

She said she went to the restroom at the interval of the preliminary and final match of the 100 meters. But she said she left her bag outside unattended.

"It was chaotic there; nobody could take care of my stuff. My coach criticized me for being careless later," she said. "I was closely watched after my outstanding performance earlier this year in Zhengzhou; I must have been set up."

Wang said that she accepted the test results but called for further investigation into the case.

The substance would have little performance-enhancing effect on Wang, as it would have been unable to immediately boost competition results, the Fujian delegation was quoted by the China News Agency as saying.

It is the third doping case at the ongoing National Games. A rower from Henan Province, Guo Linna, and a shooter from Inner Mongolia, Li Jie, have also tested positive for banned substances. They were both kicked out of the competitions.

The anti-doping agency received a written document from Wang, who decided not to give a second urine sample for testing, Zhao Jian, deputy director of the agency, said yesterday.

"It is hard to prove their innocence through the investigation, though, if they can't raise substantial evidence," Shen added.

According to a regulation made by the CAAC before the National Games, any sprinters and coaches involved in doping cases will get a lifetime ban.

"CAAC makes harsher regulations than bodies governing other events, because the only doping violation found in the 2005 National Games was a top runner. It is a measure of the serious clampdown on the use of drugs," Shen said.

Wang won the 100-meter championship last week in a time of 11.50 seconds, becoming the first athlete from southeastern Fujian Province to win an athletics gold medal at the National Games.

Wang was the only Chinese woman who entered the 100-meter final at last year's Olympic Games in Beijing. She also ran in the 4x100 relay.

No sympathy

Given that anti-doping efforts have been tightened over the years, with a high frequency of sampling, Zhang Ying, a professor of exercise biochemistry at the Beijing Sport University, said the sprinter's failure of a doping test was unreasonable.

"She is a talented athlete. It is common sense. But there is a possibility that immense pressure may also have driven her to take drugs," Zhang said.

Zhang did not rule out the possibility that Wang had mistakenly taken the drug, as she claimed.

Wang Yuqing, an anti-doping education specialist with the Shenyang Sports College, said the sprinter should be blamed for doping.

"The result of the testing indicated that the substance was not produced by the human body, which means it is normally from an injection. Mistakenly taking the substance is unlikely," Wang said.

The substance is among the most frequently used by doping athletes, although it is severely harmful to one's health, Wang said.

Ma Dexing, a sports commentator, said he believed a result-oriented mentality is behind the use of performance-enhancing drugs at the National Games.

"Doping is not uncommon. The thirst for medal bonuses may prompt athletes to risk their careers," Ma said.

Any athletes found to have taken banned substances will be kicked out of the competition and barred from competition for at least four years, organizers said.

Kang Juan and Guo Qiang contributed to this story