August 21, 2008	Thursday	Sha'aban 18, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: Disgraced Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif could be cleared of his latest doping scandal due to a discrepancy in the concentrations of the prohibited steroid found in his two drug samples, a doping expert said on Wednesday.

Asif faces a ban of up to two years after the B sample of a drug test taken on May 30 tested positive on Tuesday at the World Anti-Doping Agency’s laboratory in Switzerland.

“There is a major discrepancy in the two [urine] samples of Asif which came out positive, and in such cases, the player has a chance to be cleared,” Dr Danish Zaheer, president of Sports Medicine Association of Pakistan, said.

Asif’s lawyer Shahid Karim was quoted in a national daily as saying that the B sample’s reading had 5.4mg of the steroid nandrolone, compared to the 6.2mg found in the A sample of the test taken while the player was contesting the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Daredevils.

“This is a lot of difference and I’m sure if his lawyer pursues the case, Asif has a chance to come out clean,” Dr Zaheer said.

Asif was accompanied by his lawyer and medical expert Dr Graham Durgan to Switzerland for results of the test’s B sample.

“We will appeal to the IPL drug tribunal and point out the difference in the test results,” Asif was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Dr Zaheer said that even if the IPL rejected Asif’s appeal, the fast bowler could proceed to the Court of Arbitration of Sports.

“I still remember that an Indian gold medallist athlete Sunita Rani had a similar case of varied readings at the Busan Asian Games in 2002, and she won her case at the CAS,” he said.—AP