Athletes Mehboob Ali, Mohammad Naeem, Samiullah deny doping, call for retest
Mehboob Ali, Mohammad Naeem and Samiullah could be the reason behind Pakistan losing five medals.
Athletes Mehboob Ali, Mohammad Naeem and Samiullah, who won medals at the South Asian Games 2019, have denied using performance enhancing drugs despite their dope test results being positive, Geo News reported.
The trio maintained that that they did not commit the ill practice and in turn insisted to opt for a B-sample in order to confirm the results.
The athletes will now face punishment as per the World Anti-Doping Agency's rules.
Earlier, a source within the athletics federation revealed that three anonymous athletes were confirmed to have been using banned substances.
Mehboob bagged a gold medal in men’s 400m hurdles while Naeem and Samiullah each won a bronze medal.
Pakistan also won two bronze medals in the relay category and may risk losing a total of five medals over the trio's actions.
The SAG 2019 were held in Kathmandu between Dec 1 and 10 and Pakistani athletes had won 32 gold, 41 silver and 59 bronze medals at the event.
With 31 gold, the national contingent had finished fourth on the medal table behind leaders India (174), hosts Nepal (51) and Sri Lanka (40).
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