World tennis organizations declare Benny innocent
JAKARTA (JP): Controversies surrounding the 14th National Games doping test results are looming large after the two world tennis bodies declared Benny Wijaya clean.
Soegiharso, deputy secretary of the Indonesian Tennis Association, told a press conference that both the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) sent faxes Wednesday and Thursday saying the substances found in Benny's urine samples were not listed among banned ones by the two tennis bodies.
The National Sports Council stripped Benny of his two gold medals early this week after the Games doping laboratory found traces of the stimulant heptaminol acefyllinate, which is banned by the International Olympic Committee, in the samples.
Another five athletes also failed their dope tests. The council should let the athletes' respective sport organizations decide punishment for the drug cheats according to regulations set by their respective world bodies.
"The association will discuss the possible penalties imposed on Benny internally," Sugiharso said.
Former national No. 1 Benny, who snapped up a double gold in the men's singles and the men's team for Jakarta, voluntarily admitted taking cariamyl to cure his fever.
"I hope the national tennis body opts to refer to both the ITF and the ATP rather than the IOC," Benny said yesterday. "According to the two world tennis organizations, the drugs I consumed would not influence my playing. I still could win without the drugs."
Benny, once the Indonesian Tennis Association's naughty boy for refusing to play in the Davis Cup last year, said the council's punishment had cracked him under pressure.
Dangsina Moeloek, chairwoman of the 13th Games' doping commission, urged her successors at yesterday's press meeting to choose between the IOC and the two international tennis bodies for regulations as reference points.
In the previous Games three years ago, each sport organization referred to their respective international bodies when they took punitive measures against drug cheats. A swimmer and four cyclists served match bans between six and 15 months for using steroids in the 13th Games.
Unprofessional
Dangsina, who is now working for the Indonesian Tennis Association, also criticized the 14th Games doping commission for lacking in professionalism by appointing an unqualified person for the top post at the doping laboratory.
She said such a doping laboratory should be chaired by a doctor in biochemistry or pharmacology. A dentist was named for the job instead.
Dangsina also called on the commission to drop the doping cases because of some dubiousness in the Games regulations and because penalties would not serve as the appropriate form of punishment for the six athletes.
Benny, men's judoist Dwi Sihmanto, women's hockey player Fatimous Munaidah, men's shooter Lt. Col Siswanto and women's shooters First Lt. Titik Sumarni and Inca Ferry were found guilty of taking stimulants.
"Let's use Inca's case as an example. The substances found in her samples were not included in the commission's list of banned drugs," she said. Inca, a double silver medalists from Yogyakarta, admitted using fenflouramine to treat her cold.
"Why don't we just get over it and rehabilitate the six athletes?," she said.
The sport council's chairman, Wismoyo Arismunandar, has called for minimum penalties against the six athletes because they unintentionally took the drugs. Wismoyo also said the substances found in the athletes's urine samples were not as dangerous as steroids.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Indonesian Shooting Association, Soetiyoso, told reporters the association would not punish Inca and Titiek. "They have lost their medals. I don't want to give additional punishments," he said.
Siswanto was an exception, however, because he took beta blockers, which should have influenced his performance, according to Sutiyoso. (yan)