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Thursday, February 02, 2006
Aventajado to appeal RP jin’s drug violation
By Frank C. Calapre
Sun.Star Correspondent
MANILA – The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) will not sanction Esther Marie Singson, who was found to have used a banned substance in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games (Seag) on Nov. 27 to Dec. 5 here.
PTA president Robert Aventajado defended Singson, saying the diuretic substance found in the urine sample was a standard substance contained in slimming tea.
He said that he will wait for the decision of the World Taekwondo Association before taking any action on the matter.
Innocence
“We stand by the innocence of the athlete. Clearly, she did not take any drug that would have given her advantage in the competition. It was an honest mistake,” said Aventajado.
Aventajado said that he will also make an appeal before the Seag Council in its meeting in Malaysia within the month. He said he will explain the circumstances of the presence of the diuretics in Singson’s system.
“We will stress the fact that diuretics do not in any way affect the athletes’ performance in the Games and that she is tested negative for steroids,” Aventajado said.
Philippine Center for Sports Medicine head Dr. Raul Canlas said Singson was given a preparatory drug test on Nov. 22, some five days before the Seag but the examination could not detect the presence of diuretics, only steroids.
“Singson was negative of any form of steroids,” Canlas said.
Canlas said that diuretic substances are banned in the competition because they can be used to conceal the use of steroids.
Wada
The controversy, which may reduce the overall gold medal haul of the champion Team Philippines to only 112, was discovered by a medical facility in Beijing, China, which is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
The use of Wada-accredited facilities to test the Seag participants was implemented only in the 23rd Seag.
“Before, it was only mandatory in the Olympic Games,” Canlas said.
Singson was reported to have used a herbal slimming tea weeks before the Seag because of her problem to make the required 55-kilogram class. She was 57kg early in October, Aventajado said.
If given an unfavorable decision by the Seag Federation Council, which is now headed by the 2007 host Thailand, Singson will not only be stripped of the gold medal but she will also be asked to return the P100,000 cash incentive she received to the Philippine Sports Commission.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 2, 2006 issue)
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