MWF disband national team in battle against doping

PETALING JAYA: In a battle to clean up the sport of drugs, the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) have decided to disband the national team from Nov 1.

The MWF made the bold move to start afresh after discussions with the National Sports Council last week.

Earlier this month, two of their athletes – 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Azroy Hazalwafie and Ikram Haikal Muhd Zuari – tested positive for using banned substances.

Their fate will be known by the end of next month after the investigation-cum-hearing process conducted by the Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia’s (Adamas) independent committee.

Both tested positive for anabolic androgenic steroids, a performance-enhancing substance, which carries a four-year suspension if found guilty.

“All four coaches and 13 athletes in the senior and junior squads will be given one-month notice from Oct 1.

“The team will be disbanded from Nov 1 and we will hold a selection trial on Oct 18-20 to select the weightlifters for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next year,” said MWF president Datuk Ayub Rahmat.

“The selection trial will be open to all state affiliates and I hope everyone can give their best performance.

“We took the decision to disband the national team as we are serious in tackling this issue, especially as we have a junior (Ikram) who is involved.

“After one year, we experienced doping issues again and it has badly affected the national body.”

Weightlifting is a major medal contributor at the Commonwealth Games. Malaysia won two golds from Azroy (56kg) and Aznil Bidin (62kg).

The MWF have wrestled with doping problems in recent years where no less than five cases (excluding the current two) have been recorded over the last five years.

In a bid to tackle the problem, MWF imposed a “voluntary” one-year ban on all their athletes from 2018-2019.