PBSI waiting for result of Sigit's second drug test
JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) will not take any action against doubles specialist Sigit Budiarto until the International Badminton Federation (IBF) announces the result of a second test on a urine sample taken from him in August.
Top PBSI officials appeared defensive during a media conference on Wednesday and did not attempt to explain what might have caused Sigit to fail a dope test at the Singapore Open in August.
"I'm disappointed with the IBF because they violated their own rules. They said the positive result of a test on Sigit's first sample was confidential, so why has it been made public?" Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, the association's deputy chairman in charge of athletes development, said.
"They have disobeyed the presumption of innocence for our athlete," he added.
The IBF announced on Tuesday that the test had detected nandrolone, an anabolic steroid which is on the IOC list of banned substances. When making the announcement, the IBF admitted it was unusual to make any public statement before the results of a mandatory second test were known.
"It appears that the information has already become known outside IBF and PBSI," the statement said.
Sigit won the Singapore Open doubles with his long-time partner Chandra Wijaya. The pair also collected the World Championship title in 1997.
The world badminton body informed Sigit and the PBSI of the positive result of the test on Sept. 23, one day before he received an IOC scholarship along with Candra, women's doubles player Deyana Lomban and boys' singles player Taufik Hidayat.
Sigit is the third Indonesian badminton player to be linked to drug abuse after men's singles player Hastomo Arbi in the late 1980s and women's singles player Minarti Timur in 1991. The latter receive a one year ban from the IBF.
Siregar said the PBSI has named a team to attend the second sample test on Thursday morning. But he refused to identify the officials or where the test would be conducted.
"We are out to defend him because he is our boy. We will also ask the IBF to explain this uncommon practice, no matter what the result of the second test is," said Siregar.
"We are still convinced that Sigit did not consume any kind of medicine without first consulting a doctor," Siregar added.
Pending the announcement of the result of the "B" sample test, Sigit will continue to follow his usual routine, Siregar said.
He said the 22-year-old doubles player would continue with preparations for his next tournament in Hong Kong in November and the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok in December, the continent's major sporting event, at which the doubles team of Sigit and Chandra were expected to win a gold medal.
Siregar said PBSI chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo would disclose the results of the test and announce Sigit's punishment in the event of the test showing a positive result.
PBSI doctor Michael Triangto said Sigit was never keen to take any medicine, even if he was unwell.
"I have known Sigit since 1996. If I give him medicine for five days, he'll only take it for the first day. He'll cure himself in his own way, by eating good food and taking plenty rest," he said.
Separately, Sigit, a native of Yogyakarta, said he drank herbal medicine recommended by his masseur to gain weight on the eve of the Singapore Open.
"But then I suffered an allergic reaction to something and took medicine from Ricky (Subagja). He used to consume it and he has never failed a dope test," Sigit said as quoted by Antara.
Ricky won the 1996 Olympic gold medal with doubles partner Rexy Mainaky. The pair triumphed again in the Danish Open on Sunday. (yan)