From winners to losers, from heroes to villains
The waiting is over. The B samples of the two Malaysian athletes who failed the doping test at the Indonesia SEA Games in November have also tested positive and they now face lengthy bans.
Yesterday, Malaysia’s worst fears came true when it was confirmed that the B samples taken from a member of the gold medal winning 4x400m men’s quartet and a third-placed weightlifter had verified that they had ingested a banned substance.
The Indonesian SEA Games Organising Committee (Inasoc) had informed the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) on Dec 21 that two of their athletes had failed the drugs test.
OCM had immediately notified the sports bodies involved — the Malaysian Athletic Union (MAU) and Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) — but they chose to await the result of the B sample before taking any action.
With the confirmation of the doping offence, Malaysia will be stripped of the gold and bronze medals won through the runners and weightlifter.
The country’s medal haul of 59-50-81 will be reduced to 58-50-80 but Malaysia will still remain fourth overall behind Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam in the standings.
OCM secretary general Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said he would take the necessary steps to see that appropriate action was taken.
“I received a call confirming that the B samples had turned out positive as well. It’s not shocking news as we were well aware that this could be the outcome. I will wait for the official letter before revealing the names of the athletes,” said Kok Chi.
“I will forward the findings to the associations and also inform the South East Asia Games Federation (SEAGF) as only they have the authority to strip the medals from these athletes.”
Kok Chi said it was now up to the associations to investigate further and take the necessary action.
The disappointment is more with the quartet of P. Yuvaraaj, Schzuan Ahmed Rosley, S. Kannathasan and Mohd Yunus Lasaleh, who returned home as heroes after their exploit in Indonesia. Initially not selected for the Games, they turned up at the eleventh hour and ran the race of their life to take the gold.
They missed out on the medal presentation because the organisers had changed the schedule.
But their story so captivated the nation that arrangements were made for them to receive the medals from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a special ceremony.
That glory has now turned to disgrace and they will have to return their medals - The Star