Drug case hits China early in Asian meet

JAKARTA (JP): A new doping scandal marred defending champion China's prelude to the 11th Asian Track and Field Championships here yesterday, but a Chinese official said that his team will easily pass the drug tests.

"All of the athletes should be clean," said Huang Zhi, secretary general of the Chinese Athletic Association. "If, however, some of them test positive, they will be punished."

Severe punishment will also be imposed on those who are found guilty of giving the athletes banned substances, including their coaches," Huang added.

Huang was referring to the Chinese runner Du Xiujie, who was stripped of the silver medal she won at the World Student Games in Fukuoka, Japan last month, after failing a drug test.

The organizing committee for the Games said yesterday that it had been informed by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) that traces of the stimulant strychnine had been found in Du's second urine sample after the 400m race, Reuters reported.

A FISU official said that the 23-year-old Du had also been tested after winning the 200m two days before the 400m, though it proved negative.

The Chinese statistics reveal that 31 national athletes, including world champions, tested positive for banned drugs last year, seven cases more than in 1993.

The problem has been worse in swimming, where seven Chinese were banned for doping at last year's Asian Games in Hiroshima. They included two women's world champions, Lu Bin and Yang Aihua.

The latest finding came just as China was gearing up for its title defense campaign at the track and field meet, which runs through Sunday at the Madya Senayan stadium. China came out as the runaway leader in the 1993 meet in Manila with a haul of 23 gold medals.

Huang told The Jakarta Post that his athletes were not tested prior to coming to Jakarta. He suggested that giving them repeated warnings would suffice in preventing them from taking the illegal substances.

He also pointed out that the Chinese government passed a law last month making doping illegal. "The law should end the easy access to performance-enhancing drugs in Chinese pharmacies without a doctor's prescription," he added.

Huang said China conducted around 500 drug probes with the IAAF and the Chinese Athletic Association last year and that the number will increase to 800 this year. The probes will include out-of-competition tests.

A total of five golds will be up for grabs when President Soeharto declares the biennial event open today. World Championships 3,000m steeplechase bronze medalist Saad Shaddad Al-Asmari will spearhead Saudi Arabia's quest for three gold medals in the track events.

Saudian coach Jamma M. Adn said he banked on Alyan Al Ghatani, fresh after winning a silver medal at the World Military Games in Rome five days ago, to win the men's 10,000m.

The championships first gold medal will be offered in the field events, with Asian Games men's javelin gold medalist Zhang Lianbao of China and Asian Games men's shot put silver medalist Sergei Roubtsov of Kazakhstan dubbed the hot favorites. (arf/amd)