BEIJING: Chinese athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs will receive criminal punishments and jail terms from next year, as China cracks down on doping ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, state media reported.
China's sports administration and top judicial authority are drafting rules that would apply criminal law to doping cases, official news agency Xinhua said Friday.
Citing remarks made at a Friday meeting by Gou Zhongwen, director of China's sports administration, Xinhua said that the new anti-doping punishments will be put into effect "probably in early 2019".
"It is our will to show the world we are really serious about anti-doping, and are taking concrete measures on fight against doping," Gou said.
China's sports administration told AFP it could not confirm Xinhua's report.
Doping scandals have riddled China's international sporting record in the past decade, with some athletes stripped of Olympic gold medals.
In January 2017, three Chinese women's weightlifting gold medallists at the 2008 Beijing Olympics were disqualified and stripped of their medals for doping following a reanalysis of their drug tests.
Later that year, a Chinese doctor claimed that there had been a systematic doping programme in China during the 1980s and 1990s across a range of sports, in an interview with German media.
All medals won by Chinese athletes at major international tournaments in the last two decades of the 20th century are tainted by doping, alleged the whistleblower, Xue Yinxian.
This year, China banned several of its own athletes who were found to have used performance-enhancing drugs, as Beijing works to clean up its international sporting reputation.
In January, a Chinese speed skater was handed a two-year ban and struck off the national team ahead of the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.
That same month, China's national marathon champion and Olympian Wang Jiali was banned for eight years after failing a drugs test, her second violation.
China to punish athletic doping as criminal offence
China to punish athletic doping as criminal offence
- Doping scandals have riddled China's international sporting record in the past decade, with some athletes stripped of Olympic gold medals
- "It is our will to show the world we are really serious about anti-doping, and are taking concrete measures on fight against doping," Gou Zhongwen, director of China's sports administration, said
Desert Vipers eliminate Sharjah Warriorz with 5-wicket win to close ILT20 group stage
- The result confirmed the Vipers’ place at the top end of the table, while leaving either Abu Dhabi Knight Riders or Gulf Giants to claim the final playoff berth
SHARJAH: Desert Vipers ended the Sharjah Warriorz’ playoff hopes with a five-wicket victory in their final International League T20 group-stage match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, becoming the first team to win eight games in a single group phase.
The result confirmed the Vipers’ place at the top end of the table, while leaving either Abu Dhabi Knight Riders or Gulf Giants to claim the final playoff berth when they meet in the last league fixture on Sunday.
The winner of Saturday’s clash between MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals will finish in the top two.
After being sent in the Warriorz were restricted to 140 for seven, with Naseem Shah and Qais Ahmad leading a disciplined bowling effort. Naseem finished with three wickets, while early strikes from David Payne and Khuzaima Tanveer left the hosts reeling at 6 for two.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Johnson Charles rebuilt through the powerplay, adding 61 runs for the third wicket, but the innings lost momentum once Kohler-Cadmore was bowled by Naseem in the 10th over.
Qais then struck twice in quick succession, dismissing Charles for 43 and removing captain Sikandar Raza for a golden duck, reducing the Warriorz to 79 for five.
James Rew and Ryan Burl attempted to stabilize the innings, but the Vipers closed strongly, with Naseem striking again late on to ensure the Warriorz failed to reach a competitive total.
The chase began shakily as Raza and Richard Ngarava reduced the Vipers to 28 for two inside the powerplay, removing Fakhar Zaman and Andries Gous.
Max Holden and Sam Curran steadied the innings with a measured 64-run partnership, absorbing pressure before gradually lifting the run rate.
Harmeet Singh briefly revived the Warriorz’ hopes with wickets in the middle overs, including Curran and later Dan Lawrence and Jason Roy, but Holden remained composed throughout.
His unbeaten 66 from 46 balls anchored the chase, before Hasan Nawaz’s brisk 25 from 14 deliveries ensured the Vipers crossed the line with overs to spare.
Vipers captain Curran said the win was an ideal way to close the group stage.
“It was really pleasing to get a win heading into the qualifier. We adjusted to the conditions very well. Max played a superb innings, and Hasan finished it off nicely with some big strikes at the end. We’ve had a fantastic season overall, winning eight out of ten matches,” he said.
Sharjah Warriorz skipper Raza reflected on a disappointing campaign, saying: “Pretty much everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong this season. Had we played those key moments slightly better in a few of our games, we would have qualified already.
“On these wickets, 150 was a competitive total and we rarely got there, which is the most painful part.”
