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MAU sending sprinter under doping probe to Hong Kong meet

 KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Athletic Union (MAU) are well known for making decisions which defy logic.

And they have done it again by naming national woman sprinter Siti Zubaidah Adabi, who is under probe for a doping offence, for the Hong Kong Open this weekend.

Siti Zubaidah, 26, from Johor will compete in both the 100m and 200m in Hong Kong.

Under probe: National sprinter Siti Zubaidah Adabi will be competing in the 100m and 200m sprints in Hong Kong.
 
She is one of the six national sprinters facing lengthy bans for failing to provide urine samples for a routine doping test conducted by the National Sports Institute (NSI) on May 24 last year.

Siti Zubaidah, Siti Fatima Mohamed, Yee Yi Ling, Norjannah Hafiszah Jamaludin, Nurul Sarah Kadir and Noor Imran Hadi skipped the test on the orders of former national coach Harun Rasheed.
MAU banned Harun, who had already retired, for a year but only gave stern warnings to the six athletes.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), unhappy with the punishment which they said did not match the severity of the offence, want the sprinters suspended for four years and Harun banned for life.
MAU are defending the six athletes by taking on WADA in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland.

A top MAU official, who did not want to be named, said he was shocked to hear that Siti Zubaidah had been selected for the Hong Kong Open.

ā€œAlthough the CAS hearing has not started, it is advisable for her not to compete until the matter is resolved.

ā€œMAU should only send athletes who are not under a doping cloud,ā€ said the official.
Siti Zubaidah, when contacted yesterday, said she would be going for the meet.

ā€œI competed in the Taiwan Open last month and won the bronze in the long jump. I hope to better my mark in the 100m in Hong Kong,ā€ said Siti Zubaidah, who has a personal best of 11.81.

Besides Siti Zubaidah, the eight others who will feature in the two-day meet in Hong Kong are sprinter Mohd Zabidi Ghazali (100m, 200m), Mohd Rohizat Jamil (110m hurdles), Nik Hafiz Nik Mohd (800m, 1,500m), Ahmad Luth Hamizan (3,000m steeplechase), Kavee Alagan (high jump), Jackie Wong (hammer), Yap Jeng Tzan (discus) and Casier Renee Kelly (hammer).
A.K. Manohar has been named as the team manager.

 

By AFTAR SINGH

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