Submit list of supplements, medicine, vitamins, athletes told

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 (Bernama) -- All national athletes who will participate in the Asian Games in Indonesia will need to submit a list of medicines, supplements and vitamins taken within six months to the Malaysian Anti-Doping Agency (Adamas).


Adamas Director Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz said the new approach to ensure that athletes were dope-free would be applied to all athletes, especially in high-risk sports such as athletics, badminton, swimming, diving and cycling.


He said that athletes who were abroad would not escape the urine tests as Adamas would ask anti-doping agencies in the countries concerned to do the test.


"The record of taking medicines within six months is a suitable period. A year is too long and three months too short. We do not want the list of medicines taken to be outside of Adamas knowledge.


"Usually the urine test result can be obtained within a week if the result is negative. If positive, the laboratory needs to take precautionary measures and the urine test will be repeated or other tests are used to confirm the decision, so it will take two weeks, "he said after the coordination of the Asian Games with Head of Contingent Datuk Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi at the National Sports Council (MSN) today.


Dr Ramlan said the most important thing was that high-risk athletes had to undergo tests and hoped the associations and the athletes themselves would cooperate with Adamas.


"Adamas will call the athletes involved at any time to undergo urine tests. Athletes will not know when they will be called. We will go to the athletes to ask their cooperation to do the test,"he said.


Meanwhile, Abdul Azim said that if the result of a urine test was positive, the athlete would be dropped from the team immediately and would face severe penalties.


"If the result of a test performed by Adamas is negative but the athlete is found to be positive after the competition at the Asian Games, I will suggest that MSN impose a heavy punishment on the athlete," he said.


The country's contingent to the Asian Games on August 18 - Sept 2 would involve more than 400 athletes.


-- BERNAMA