Thai SEA Games drug users were innocent: Doping official

Thai SEA Games drug users were innocent: Doping official

JAKARTA (JP): Two Thai athletes convicted of using banned
substances by the 19th SEA Games medical committee were innocent,
according to Dangsina Moeloek, the organizers' doping test and
gender verification deputy.

Dangsina told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the Thais were
using salbutamol legally because they had included doctors'
certificates when they completed the drug declaration forms after
winning their golds.

The organizers announced last month that Nuanwan Kerdsumran,
who won the gold in the women's 10 meters air rifle match, and
David Yimsumruay, who won the gold in the decathlon, were found
guilty of using salbutamol because they did not include doctors'
certificates when completing the declaration forms.

Salbutamol is taken for breathing problems such as asthma and
has an anabolic side effect.

International Olympic Committee rules state that salbutamol is
permitted for inhaler users and must be declared in writing to
the relevant medical authority prior to the competition.

"As long as the athletes can show their doctors' certificates
saying they use salbutamol legally, then they are innocent,"
Dangsina said.

Along with the two Thais, Indonesian male cyclist Tonton
Susanto and Myanmar's body builder Khin Naung Hwe were also
convicted of using banned substances.

The SEA Games Federation Medical Committee's secretary, Dr
Carmen Jahya, said Wednesday that the certificates were never
passed on to her committee.

Carmen said there was "a missing link because the urine
collectors said they did not receive any letters."

Dangsina said Dr Yingdao Krairiksh of Thailand filled in the
drug declaration form for Nuanwan and handed it over to the urine
collector, a member of the doping committee, after Nuanwan won
the gold.

The doping form and the declaration form were then passed on
to Dr Varin Tansuphasiri, the medical committee chairman, on Oct.
16.

On. Oct. 18, Dr Arth Nana completed the same procedure for
David.

"At an Oct. 21 meeting , Carmen only photocopied the doping
control forms," Dangsina said.

"In this case, the doping committee officials had done their
job according to the procedures and the Thailand doctors had
filled in the drug declaration forms which meant there were no
problems at all with the Thailand athletes.

"After the A samples tested positive, Carmen never asked me
about the declaration forms."

Disappointment

Dangsina expressed her disappointment at the organizers'
decision to announce the athletes names.

"They should have completed all procedures and made sure that
their urine tests were positive before announcing the names. We
should have a presumption of innocence," she said.

"The organizers must rectify the announcement because it's
about a nation's good name. It's not easy to rehabilitate
somebody's name. They should have asked us in the first place,"
she said, adding that Thailand had already protested to her about
the announcement.

"I also regretted why I only found out about it yesterday. If
I had known about it earlier, it might not have been this
complicated," she said.

Dangsina said the doping committee, which was under the
organizers' competition department, only gave the samples and not
the names to the Jakarta doping laboratory, which received a
temporary accreditation from the Sydney doping laboratory for one
week before and after the SEA Games.

"After testing an A sample, the lab hands over the result to
the doping officials, who search for the athlete's
identification. After finding out the ID, we have to check his or
her paperwork to ascertain if he or she included a doctor's
certificate.

"It's a matter of procedure. It seems the coordination between
us was not good," she said.

Dangsina said all the papers regarding doping and gender
verification had been submitted to the competition deputy,
Muhammad Hindarto.

Carmen could not be reached for comment yesterday. (yan)