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Former world number one Lee Chong Wei was found guilty of a doping violation yesterday but could return to action next week, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced.
The Malaysian, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, has been handed a backdated eight-month ban after testing positive for anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone at the World Championships last August.
The 32-year-old, who has been provisionally suspended since November, could have faced a career-ending two-year ban but a BWF panel accepted Lee had been “negligent.”
Dexamethasone is not performance-enhancing and listed as a specified substance, meaning its presence is more likely to have a credible, non-doping explanation.
“The panel is convinced this is not a case of doping with intent to cheat,” a BWF report read. It added the degree of negligence involved was “rather light.”
Lee, a winner of 55 titles worldwide, will lose his silver medal from the World Championships but his ban will be backdated to the date of sample collection. That means he could return to action from May 1 and feature fully in Rio 2016 qualifying, which begins on May 4.
