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China Barred From Weightlifting in 2018 Asian Games

China is among nine countries facing a year’s ban from weightlifting because of doping records.
China is among nine countries facing a year’s ban from weightlifting because of doping records.

China’s hopes of competing in weightlifting at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta have ended after the Olympic Council of Asia vowed to adhere to the International Weightlifting Federation’s ban on the country.

China had entered the team of 14, featuring four Olympic gold medalists, for Jakarta Palembang 2018, Insidethegames reported.

It hoped a decision by the IWF in Lausanne over the previous two days would have allowed them to return early from suspension and compete in Indonesia.

China was one of nine nations suspended for a year last October for having three or more positives in the re-testing of samples from the Olympic Games at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

There were three Chinese positives in the re-tests, all gold medalists at Beijing 2008. The worst offenders, Kazakhstan and Russia, had 10 each.

The IWF has released a statement claiming its Independent Monitoring Group will carry on with its work to monitor the nine nations’ compliance and to render corresponding decisions in respect of the conditional reinstatement of them.

Speaking after an OCA executive board meeting on Saturday, director general Husain Al-Musallam revealed they will follow the IWF position.

“The International Federation had their meeting and they didn’t send us anything that we can allow the Chinese and the Kazakh athletes in weightlifting to come,” he said. “So we follow the requirement of the athletes from the International Federation.”

The IWF has already allowed three of the nine suspended nations - Turkey, with three positives, Armenia, with four, and Azerbaijan, with five - to return early after they were deemed by an independent panel to have made “significant progress” in their anti-doping efforts.

Turkey was welcomed back in mid-June, and both Azerbaijan and Armenia can return to senior competition from Sunday.

The 2018 Asian Games was officially launched on Saturday and will wrap up September 2. Weightlifting competition is scheduled to get underway on Monday.

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