Thailand, Malaysia banned from weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics

Budapest, April 4 (IANS): Thailand and Malaysia have been banned from sending weightlifters to the Tokyo Olympics. The International Weightlifting Federation said in its statement on Saturday that the Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (TAWA) has been suspended for three years, while the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) has been given a one-year ban.

In its decision, the Independent Member Federation Sanctions Panel (IMFSP), which issued the bans to the two federations, said the bans would apply whenever the Games take place. The Tokyo Olympics was postponed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Additionally, the Thai federation has also been fined $200,000, half of which "shall be used by IWF to offset IWF costs already incurred in connection with the TAWA matter and for additional IWF testing of TAWA athletes", the panel said.

The Thailand federation had already withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics voluntarily after nine of its weightlifters were caught for doping violations at the 2018 World Championships.

The IMFSP said that both the TAWA and MWF were informed of the bans on Wednesday and have 21 days to appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The two countries thus join Egypt in being banned from the Olympics while Colombia and Romania await their decisions.