Malaysian Diver Loses SEA Games Gold Medals Following Positive Drug Test

Earlier this month, it was reported that the 145 gold medals that Malaysia had proudly hauled during the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games have been stained by an athlete who tested positive for drugs.

The athlete was revealed to be 24-year-old Malaysian diving gold medalist Wendy Ng Yan Yee.

According to The Star, Wendy had reportedly failed a doping test after testing positive for sibutramine, a stimulant common in slimming products but remains on the banned list of substances by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).

Following this unfortunate revelation, the athlete will reportedly be stripped of the two gold medals she won during KL2017.

Wendy is one of the three athletes revealed by the SEA Games Federation who had reportedly resulted in a positive drug test. She was in New Delhi, India two weeks ago to observe her B sample testing.

As a result, Malaysia will lose the gold medal won by Wendy and Nur Dhabitah Sabri in the 3m springboard synchro event to Singapore’s Ashlee Tan and Fong Kay Yian.

As for the 3m springboard individual event that Wendy had originally won, the gold medal will go to Dhabitah who finished second place.

This exposé had tainted the clean record which the Malaysian contingent had hoped to set at the SEA Games.

The National Sports Council (NSC) and the National Sports Institute (NSI) had reportedly guaranteed that no Malaysian athlete would test positive, just like the Singapore SEA Games in 2015.

Despite the results, Wendy will reportedly be banned for a maximum of two years instead of four as the use of sibutramine is not considered as serious of an offence as performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids or erythropoietin (EPO).

Three-time Olympic silver medalist Lee Chong Wei advised to stay strong and trust the NSI to help them, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.

Chong Wei himself had served an eight-month doping ban after reportedly testing positive at the 2014 World Championships.

He also reportedly said that it is difficult for athletes to keep track because there are new substances added to the banned list every year.