The ITA asserts apparent anti-doping rule violations against 6 weightlifters from Pakistan

The ITA reports that it has asserted apparent ADRVs against Talib Talha and Abubakar Ghani under Article 2.1 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules (Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers). More particularly, a sample collected from Talib Talha, out-of-competition on 29 November 2021 and thereafter, another sample collected on 10 December 2021 during the  2021 IWF World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2021 World Championships) have both returned Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs) for the prohibited steroid 19-norandrosterone.[1] Additionally, a sample collected from Abubakar Ghani on 9 December 2021 during the 2021 World Championships has returned an AAF for the prohibited hormone and metabolic modulator tamoxifen metabolite.

Pursuant to the IWF’s delegation of its anti-doping program to the ITA, the ITA was in charge of conducting a robust, intelligence-led and targeted in-competition sample collection during the 2021 World Championships.

A joint ITA and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation, initiated on the basis of ITA intelligence, also resulted in the ITA asserting apparent ADRVs against the following four Pakistani weightlifters under Article 2.3 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules (Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection) for refusing to submit to sample collection during an attempted out-of-competition test conducted by the ITA in Pakistan on 10 November 2021 –

• Muhammad Sharjeel Butt
• Ghulam Mustafa
• Abdur Rehman
• Farhan Amjad

All six athletes have been informed of the cases and have been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matters.  During the period of provisional suspension, the athletes cannot inter alia participate in any capacity in any competition or any other activity either at the international or national level organized by any signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code.

The prosecution of the cases is also being handled entirely by the ITA. Given that the cases are underway, there will be no further comments during the ongoing proceedings.

1: For the sake of completeness, the WADA-accredited laboratory reported the results of the sample collected on 29 November 2021 on 23 December 2021, that is after the 2021 World Championships. Both the AAFs are being jointly considered as a single apparent ADRV.