Without specifying the colour of the medals won, Malaysia Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president Ayub Rahmat said the two male weightlifters were athletes from one of the two states that it had proposed to be suspended from participating in the biennial games held this year.
“We received the doping results through a letter dated Dec 23 from Adamas.
“Both of them tested positive for steroid doping, which is classified as S1 in the list of prohibited substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
“Adamas has also sent a letter to the two athletes. They have 14 days to open the B sample (for testing) before Jan 10 next year,” he said when contacted by Bernama this evening.
According to Ayub, if the two athletes decide to open Sample B, the cost of testing will have to be borne by them.
Testing at a laboratory in Doha, Qatar, will cost US$350 (RM1,550). It will be done in the presence of the athlete or his representative.
If they do not intend to challenge Adamas’ decision through Sample B, Ayub said Adamas will then set a date for the two athletes to give an explanation.
“Both of them are now temporarily suspended.
“However, the maximum punishment for an athlete (for this offence) is a mandatory suspension of four years.
“We take a serious view of such doping cases in weightlifting, especially in the development of this sport at the national and international level,” said Ayub.
He reiterated his position that MWF did not get involved in running the 20th edition of Sukma (in Kuala Lumpur) because the organisers allowed the two states involved in doping (during the pre-tournament screening) to participate in the games and did not respect MWF’s decision.
Ayub said that even though the weightlifting event in Sukma took place, it was not recognised by MWF because the organisers did not agree with MWF’s stance to bar the two states from Sukma.
Previously, three weightlifters — two from Terengganu and one from Perlis — had failed a doping test a few days before Sukma began in September.
When the organisers allowed the two states involved in the doping to continue participating in the games, MWF withdrew from the games.