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KJM VARMA
COLOMBO, OCT 12: Sri Lanka's 400 metres hurdles gold medallist at Kathmandu's South Asian Federation (SAF) Games, Asoka Jayasundara, has admitted to taking banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Jayasundara admitted he took drugs ``without any reservations'', before a panel of officials of Sri Lanka's Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) yesterday.
AAA was investigating reports that the urine samples of two of its athletes tested positive, media reports said today.
Another sportsman who tested positive, Ranjith Kumara, a weightlifting bronze medallist, has been suspended by Sri Lanka's Weightlifting Federation.
Jayasundara also revealed that he had been taking drugs as a habit under the instructions of his doctor, The Daily Mirror reported here today.
The athlete produced bills from pharmaceutical outlets from which he had purchased the prescribed drugs, the report said.
The athlete in question had been selected to run in World Championships at Seville, Spain, at the eleventh hour, after heproduced stunning results in National Games, it said.
Following Jayasundara's admissions, Sports Minister SB Dissanayake has said stringent action would be taken against the doctor who has recommended the drug. His ministry would recommend to the country's medical council to cancel the doctor's licence and initiate legal action against him, the minister said.
Dissanayake was widely blamed by the opposition parties for not taking timely action to probe the allegations of sexual harassment made by World 200m silver medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe who was suspended by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), after her urine samples tested positive.
She was later permitted to run again after she alleged her urine samples collected by AAA officials were tampered. After a six-month ban, Susanthika was temporarily permitted to run again by IAAF, pending inquiry by its officials.
Besides the drug episode yet another scandal broke out at SAF Games at Kathmandu in which gold medal winner andcaptain of athletics team, Sriyani Kulawansa, alleged harassment by a chaperone. The matter was later probed and settled by Sports Ministry officials after her return.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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