Kuala Lumpur: After an emergency council meeting on Sunday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) made an official announcement that one of their shuttler had failed a drug test, but decided not to reveal that shuttler’s name until the B sample results are out.
BAM have confirmed that they were notified by Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Oct 2 that a Malaysian shuttler’s urine sample was found with traces of banned substance dexamethasone at a major tournament this year. Dexamethasone is a substance usually used to treat many different inflammatory conditions such as allergic disorders, skin conditions, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, or breathing disorders.
BAM president Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Arif said a working committee had been formed to provide assistance and support to the player.
“We would like to update the council members on few issues through this emergency council meeting. We have created a working committee chaired by deputy president Datuk Norza Zakaria to work with Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin,” said Tengku Mahaleel.
“I must stress that everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” added Tengku Mahaleel.
Datuk Norza assured that BAM will do their best to stand behind the player.
“It was shocking to learn about this allegation. As the head of the working committee, I will do my best to working with the Sports Minister and hope for a positive end to this incident,” said Norza.
Women’s doubles player Lee Siew May was the only Malaysian shuttler who have tested positive for pseudo-ephedrine at the 1995 Chiang Mai SEA Games. She was then banned for two years.
BAM also formed a working committee headed by Datuk Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos to create a match-fixing whistleblower system, after two Denmark badminton players – Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Kim Astrup Sorensen have reported to BWF that a Malaysian bookie invited them to fix badminton matches during the Japan Open in June.
