National hockey goalkeeper S. Kumar fails doping test

KUALA LUMPUR: National hockey squad goalkeeper S. Kumar has tested positive for doping at the Asian Cup Hockey Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh, last October.

Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said Kumar tested positive during the last Asian Cup group stage match against Oman on Oct 16.

“A letter from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) dated Dec 12 said that Kumar was detected using the banned substance sibutramine, based on a urine sample tested by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA),” he told a press conference here, yesterday.

Also present was Anti-Doping Agency Malaysia (Adamas) director Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz.

For failing the doping, means that Kumar will be suspended from engaging in hockey activities for two years, with a hearing expected to be held in January 2018.

“Kumar is a disciplined player and has long served the national hockey squad. We will provide him with all the support and assistance.

“The FIH said the banned substance detected was small and thus not used to improve performance but only for slimming, “said Subahan.

Meanwhile, Dr Ramlan said Malaysia’s position as Asian Cup runner-up 2017, was not affected because the failure of the doping test involved only one player.

According to WADA rules, the position of a team will only be invalidated if two or more people failed the doping test. So in this case, the position of the national team as the runners-up remains,” he added. - Bernama