Lee handed backdated eight-month ban for doping
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong
Wei was handed a backdated eight-month ban for doping by the Badminton
World Federation on Monday, keeping alive the former world number one's
dream of winning gold at the Rio Olympics next year.
The
32-year-old Malaysian, twice an Olympic silver medallist, had been
under a provisional suspension since November after testing positive for
anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone during the world championships
three months earlier.
Lee,
the winner of 55 titles around the world, had his case heard by a
three-member panel in Amsterdam on April 11 and faced a two-year ban
which would have all but ended his career but the Kuala Lumpur-based BWF
opted for a softer sentence.
Lee will be eligible to compete again on Friday.
"The panel is convinced this is not a case of doping with intent to cheat," the world governing body said in a statement.
However, the panel found that Lee had been "negligent", but ruled that the degree of negligence was "rather light".
Lee's
inactivity -- his last match was a defeat to China's Chen Long in the
world championship final -- has seen his ranking slump to 30th in the
world.
The qualifying period for the Rio de Janeiro Games begins on May 4 and will run for a year.
Lee,
one of Malaysia's favourite sporting sons, remains his country's top
ranked shuttler and was nominated last week for Malaysia's 2014
sportsman of the year award
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