Lee’s doping ban reversed

Published April 16, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has reversed a one-year ban handed to Olympic gold medallist Lee Yon-dae for failing to comply with doping requirements.

Lee and fellow South Korean player Kim Ki-jung are eligible to resume competition immediately after the Malaysia-based BWF found that the “whereabouts failures” were due to the management of the programme by the national badminton federation.

Neither player failed a doping test, but had been required to provide whereabouts information for the BWF to conduct out-of-competition testing.

Lee and Kim accumulated three “whereabouts failures’’ in 2013 and received the ban in January, despite a disciplinary panel finding that there were extenuating circumstances because the Badminton Korea Association failed to “make diligent efforts to keep the BWF informed about the players’ whereabouts.

“The BWF on Tuesday announced it had reversed the ban “based on significant new evidence’’ presented in a subsequent disciplinary process against the BKA.

The disciplinary “panel has determined all strikes for missed tests and filing failures against both players in 2013 are canceled and that no violation was therefore committed,’’ the BWF statement said.

The BKA was fined $41,170 for failing in its duty of care for Kim and Lee through administrative failures in the management of the whereabouts system which contributed to the three strikes against them.

Lee won gold in the mixed doubles at the 2008 Olympics and bronze in the men’s doubles at London 2012. —AP

Opinion

Editorial

More stabilisation
Updated 23 May, 2026

More stabilisation

The stabilisation achieved through painful growth compression steps could have been used as a platform for structural reforms.
Appalling tactics
23 May, 2026

Appalling tactics

IN Punjab, an encounter with the law can quickly turn deadly. Encouraged by a culture of ‘shoot first, ask...
Failed experiment
23 May, 2026

Failed experiment

IT is going from bad to worse for Shan Masood and Pakistan. It is now seven successive Test defeats away from home;...
Hardening lines
Updated 22 May, 2026

Hardening lines

Iranian suspicions about Pakistan’s close ties with Washington and Gulf states persist, while Pakistan remains uneasy over Tehran’s growing engagement with India.
Unliveable city
22 May, 2026

Unliveable city

IN Karachi, when it comes to water, it is every man and woman for themselves. A persistent shortage in available...
Glof alert
22 May, 2026

Glof alert

FOR many communities in northern Pakistan, the sound of heavy rain now carries a different meaning. It is no longer...