体坛英语新闻：China's hammer throw athlete Zhang Wenxiu stripped of Asiad gold medal for doping

INCHEON, South Korea, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhang Wenxiu has been stripped of her Asian Games gold medal in women's hammer throw after failing a pre-competition drug test, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on Friday.

A sample taken from Zhang on Sept. 26, two days before she won the hammer throw title with 77.33 meters, was found to contain the banned substances Zeranol and its metabolite, the OCA said in a statement. Zeranol is approved for use as a growth promoter in livestock.

"The competitor has been disqualified from the competition as well as these Games and as such her accreditation canceled, and gold medal was withdrawn," said the OCA statement.

Zhang, 28, became the first Chinese athlete caught doping in major sporting events since the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, where a number of positive cases involving Chinese swimmers were reported.

The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) said that although the cause of Zhang's positive result is unknown yet, they fully respect the OCA's decision.

"The athlete may dope deliberately, but there also remain the possibilities that the positive reading was due to her consumption of contaminated meat," the COC said in a statement.

"Whatever the cause is, we respect the OCA's decision regarding Zhang's case, because the World Anti-Doping Code stipulates that athletes must bear the subsequences for the substance found in his or her body," added the COC.

So far six athletes have failed doping tests at the Incheon Games and been expelled since it opened. The OCA said that a record 1,900 athletes out of some 9,500 would undergo drug tests in Incheon.

China has been very tough in rooting out drug cheats since the late 1990s with an increasing number of drug tests, a massive education program as well as severe punishment on doping offenders.

According to the Chinese Olympic Committee, more than 10,000 drug tests were conducted on Chinese athletes each year over the past decade and the positive rate is just 0.02 percent, one of the lowest countries in the world.

Last month, WADA President Craig Reedie spoke highly of China's efforts in the fight against doping in sport, saying the country's anti-doping agency is one of the most "effective" organizations. His predecessor John Fahey also hailed China a role model in the anti-doping drive.