Made Wahyuni denies accusation of using drug
Made Wahyuni denies accusation of using drug
JAKARTA (JP): National pencak silat (martial art) athlete Ni
Made Wahyuni denied accusations that she used banned substances
which caused her to fail a drug test conducted by Brunei
Darussalam, the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games organizer.
Wahyuni said she only used an asthmatic medication when she
felt breathing difficulties due to her asthma.
She said she was surprised that the medication caused her to
fail the doping test and would likely cost her the gold medal.
"If the medicine had produced the result, then it's my fate. I
did it unintentionally," Wahyuni told Antara in Denpasar, Bali.
She said she would receive the blame for her ignorance.
"I don't want anyone to receive the blame on my case, such as
my coach, the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI), the
officials of the National Sports Council (KONI) and especially
the SEA Games contingent chief," she said, referring to
Indonesia's chef de mission Moch. Hindarto.
Senior fighter Wahyuni, who plans to retire from the sport
after the 2000 National Games (PON) in Surabaya, East Java,
outclassed Nguyen Minh Le of Vietnam in the women's class E(65-70
kilograms) final in Bandar Seri Begawan in August.
KONI plans to send Cahyo Adi, a member of the SEA Games
federation to defend Wahyuni in the executive meeting at Bandar
Seri Begawan on Wednesday. Cahyo will also ask the organizer not
to strip Wahyuni of her gold medal.
She said that it was the first time she failed the test after
she collected five gold medals from her participation in the
biennial event.
"When I took part in the SEA Games and world championship, I
never thought of using a banned substance," she said.
She said that the scandal would not stop her from practicing
martial arts. She pledged to defend the red and white flag in the
2001 SEA Games if the country asked her to.
Separately, IPSI secretary-general in Bali, Yudana, was also
surprised about the test result. He said he was sure that the
athlete would not take a banned substances to boost her
performance.
"I know Wahyuni very well. She has a high dedication and
discipline. She was made an example by her junior Bali fighters,"
he told the news agency.
Yudana said that after PON, Wahyuni planned to switch her
career to coaching as she wanted to give opportunities to her
juniors to develop.(ivy)