World tennis organizations declare Benny innocent<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Controversies surrounding the 14th National
\nGames doping test results are looming large after the two world
\ntennis bodies declared Benny Wijaya clean.<\/p>\n
Soegiharso, deputy secretary of the Indonesian Tennis
\nAssociation, told a press conference that both the International
\nTennis Federation (ITF) and the Association of Tennis
\nProfessionals (ATP) sent faxes Wednesday and Thursday saying the
\nsubstances found in Benny's urine samples were not listed among
\nbanned ones by the two tennis bodies.<\/p>\n
The National Sports Council stripped Benny of his two gold
\nmedals early this week after the Games doping laboratory found
\ntraces of the stimulant heptaminol acefyllinate, which is banned
\nby the International Olympic Committee, in the samples.<\/p>\n
Another five athletes also failed their dope tests. The
\ncouncil should let the athletes' respective sport organizations
\ndecide punishment for the drug cheats according to regulations
\nset by their respective world bodies.<\/p>\n
\"The association will discuss the possible penalties imposed
\non Benny internally,\" Sugiharso said.<\/p>\n
Former national No. 1 Benny, who snapped up a double gold in
\nthe men's singles and the men's team for Jakarta, voluntarily
\nadmitted taking cariamyl to cure his fever.<\/p>\n
\"I hope the national tennis body opts to refer to both the ITF
\nand the ATP rather than the IOC,\" Benny said yesterday.
\n\"According to the two world tennis organizations, the drugs I
\nconsumed would not influence my playing. I still could win
\nwithout the drugs.\"<\/p>\n
Benny, once the Indonesian Tennis Association's naughty boy
\nfor refusing to play in the Davis Cup last year, said the
\ncouncil's punishment had cracked him under pressure.<\/p>\n
Dangsina Moeloek, chairwoman of the 13th Games' doping
\ncommission, urged her successors at yesterday's press meeting to
\nchoose between the IOC and the two international tennis bodies
\nfor regulations as reference points.<\/p>\n
In the previous Games three years ago, each sport organization
\nreferred to their respective international bodies when they took
\npunitive measures against drug cheats. A swimmer and four
\ncyclists served match bans between six and 15 months for using
\nsteroids in the 13th Games.<\/p>\n
Unprofessional<\/p>\n
Dangsina, who is now working for the Indonesian Tennis
\nAssociation, also criticized the 14th Games doping commission for
\nlacking in professionalism by appointing an unqualified person
\nfor the top post at the doping laboratory.<\/p>\n
She said such a doping laboratory should be chaired by a
\ndoctor in biochemistry or pharmacology. A dentist was named for
\nthe job instead.<\/p>\n
Dangsina also called on the commission to drop the doping
\ncases because of some dubiousness in the Games regulations and
\nbecause penalties would not serve as the appropriate form of
\npunishment for the six athletes.<\/p>\n
Benny, men's judoist Dwi Sihmanto, women's hockey player
\nFatimous Munaidah, men's shooter Lt. Col Siswanto and women's
\nshooters First Lt. Titik Sumarni and Inca Ferry were found guilty
\nof taking stimulants.<\/p>\n
\"Let's use Inca's case as an example. The substances found in
\nher samples were not included in the commission's list of banned
\ndrugs,\" she said. Inca, a double silver medalists from
\nYogyakarta, admitted using fenflouramine to treat her cold.<\/p>\n
\"Why don't we just get over it and rehabilitate the six
\nathletes?,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The sport council's chairman, Wismoyo Arismunandar, has called
\nfor minimum penalties against the six athletes because they
\nunintentionally took the drugs. Wismoyo also said the substances
\nfound in the athletes's urine samples were not as dangerous as
\nsteroids.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Indonesian Shooting
\nAssociation, Soetiyoso, told reporters the association would not
\npunish Inca and Titiek. \"They have lost their medals. I don't
\nwant to give additional punishments,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Siswanto was an exception, however, because he took beta
\nblockers, which should have influenced his performance, according
\nto Sutiyoso. (yan)<\/p>",
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