Third-placed Wei Hong of China will take silver with Ivana Ardelian Irmanto, also of Indonesia, upgraded from fourth to the bronze medal position.

Cheau Xuen Tai of Malaysia performs during the nanquan section of the competition last Saturday (September 20) ©AFP/Getty Images





But in a strongly worded statement, Malaysia's Minister of Sport Khairy Jamaluddin has questioned "strange and suspicious" elements of the chain of custody in the handling of the urine sample when the test was taken.

They will appeal the decision to the Ad Hoc Committee of the Court of Arbitration for Sport here in Incheon.

Writing on Facebook, Jamaluddin queried why it had taken an alleged 16 hours for Tai's sample to reach the Doping Control Command Centre and raised concerns over the apparent "lameness of the chain of custody".

"We do not have any reason to question the validity of the sampling or analysis regarding the KIST (Institute of Science and Korea Technology), but the question was about the lameness [of the] CoC (Chain of Custody) process that should not be answered by that panel," he said.

"With such things, we need a decision challenging the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) against Cheau Xuen perceived that there were doubts over integrity [of the] CoC process.

"During our aggressive fight against drug use among athletes, we also need to ensure that the process is conducted with integrity [of the] CoC because every athlete is entitled to fair and equitable treatment. 

"This is also to ensure that there is no dispute or doubt on the anti-doping process."

Malaysian Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has revealed that they will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ©Facebook



Tai, who also won a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar last December, follows Tajikistan footballer Khurshed Beknazarov and Cambodian soft tennis player Yi Sophany to register fail tests here.

But, unlike the other two, the announcement of her result was delayed because Tai had requested that the B-sample was tested to confirm the findings of the original analysis.

All three testing positive for stimulants, and both Sophany and Tai Cheau Xuen for sibutramine.

The drug, originally developed and marketed by Knoll Pharmaceuticals and most recently manufactured and marketed by Abbott Laboratories, is often found in diet and slimming pills but has been withdrawn from the markets after links were found with cardiovascular problems.

It was sold under a variety of brand names, including Reductil, Meridia and Sibutrex.

The highest profile case in sports involving sibutramine came when in 2010 when footballer Adrian Mutu tested positive for the drug, with the Romania and Fiorentina striker given a nine-month ban but only serving six months of it.

Under the WADA code, the substance is listed as a specified stimulant, which means it carries a maximum two-year ban with the possibility of a reduced sentence if the athlete can prove they took the substance inadvertently.

But, whatever the eventual punishment, the news is a major blow for Malaysia, who have now lost one of only three gold medals they have won at the Games, along with two in women's squash events.

Tai's victory, coming the day after the Opening Ceremony, was also greeted ecstatically back home, with Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak among those to tweet his congratulations.

This is the first time an Asian Games gold medallist has been stripped of their award since Hiroshima 1994.

Then, 11 members of the Chinese swimming and cycling teams, winners of a  total of 15 titles between them, were disqualified after failing tests for Dihydrotestosterone, a steroid. 

Today's case is also the first positive case at an Asian Games in wushu, a martial art which made its Asian Games debut at Beijing 1990. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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