Pakistani wrestler Ali Asad has been forced to give up his bronze medal from the Commonwealth Games after a doping breach.
Asad, who won the bronze in the freestyle 57kg category, returned positive samples for both his tests taken before and during the games. Ali was among the 15 participants who were tested before leaving for Birmingham and was the only athlete to return a positive result among his group.
Another test taken during the games also returned a positive sample while his “B” sample also confirmed that he had taken prohibited performance-enhancing drugs.
The 21-year-old will appear before a committee to give his version of events or provide an explanation. Depending on the outcome of the meeting, he could be banned for up to four years from the sport.
His prize money of 1 million rupees, announced by the Sports Board of Pakistan has also been suspended.
Ali Asad was among the eight medalists for Pakistan in this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Wrestling returned the biggest medal haul with Muhammad Sharif Tahir (Silver in the 74kg wrestling), Inam Butt (Silver 86kg wrestling), Zaman Anwar (Silver 125kg plus wrestling), Inayat Ullah (Bronze 65kg Wrestling), and Ali Asad (Brzone 57kg Wrestling) netting podiums for Pakistan.
With Ali out of the picture, the medal tally drops by one.
Shah Hussain Shah secured a bronze in Judo while Nooh Dastgir Butt and Arshad Nadeem secured the only golds for Pakistan in the competition.
