Judo silver medallist Shokir Muminov was the first athlete caught for doping at the Asian Games, with organisers announcing on Friday that the 27-year-old Uzbekistan athlete had failed a doping test and been disqualified from competition.
Muminov lost the gold medal match in the 81-kilogram division to South Korea’s Kim Jae-bum on Sunday night.
Dr. Mani Jegathesan, chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia’s medical committee, said Muminov’s post-competition screening showed traces of the banned stimulant Methylhexaneamine
The World Anti-Doping Agency recently loosened the classification of Methylhexaneamine for next year to the “specified stimulant” list, which covers drugs that are more susceptible to inadvertent use and can carry reduced penalties.
Sanctions for use of the drug can be reduced if athletes prove they did not intend to enhance performance. Penalties range from a warning to a two-year ban.
Muminov “Has been disqualified from the competition as well as these games and his performance has been nullified, his medal withdraw and appropriate adjustment made to the results,” Jegathesan said.
The findings have been referred to the Uzbekistan committee, the international judo federation and to WADA.
