LEE Chong Wei is best advised to accept whatever punishment is handed down by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) over his failed dope test than to drag the matter to court.
Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar said Chong Wei, who tested positive for banned substance dexamethasone at the World Championships in August, should avoid going to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to appeal whatever sentence is handed down.
“We hope the BWF sees it sympathetically but it is very clear that if it goes to CAS, it won’t change very much,” said Tunku Imran after the SportExcel individual funding ceremony at the Royal Selangor Club in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“It’s still going to be two years (maximum) as CAS adopts the strict liability (principle) where no athlete can deny that a substance was found in his or her body.
“Therefore, for Chong Wei it is better to go through BWF than to use legal means. It is a better way to go about it than going through CAS.
“Diplomacy is a better way to go than legal means. That is my personal opinion and not anything official.”
Chong Wei will be represented by sports lawyer Mike Morgan in arguing for a ban shorter than two years at a BWF disciplinary hearing to be held soon.
Tunku Imran said he believes Chong Wei’s mitigation points would include the fact that dexamethasone is not a performance-enhancing drug and also the World No 1’s high standing in the sport.
“Chong Wei’s high standing in badminton and the fact he did not have any incidence of violation before, and also that the drug is not performance-enhancing, he is going to get a better outcome out of it,” said Tunku Imran.
“I’m sure they will take into account the enormous contribution he has made to badminton. He’s done a lot for the sport and BWF should take note of that.
“The Olympic final at London 2012 was in fact one of the most-watched events on television where Chong Wei played Lin Dan and it shows how big an impact he has made.”
If Chong Wei is banned for two years, it will in all likelihood rule him out of the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
“Rio is 20 months away and the question is can Chong Wei be in Rio. If he gets two years he is not going to be in Rio but if it is less than two years, he could,” said Tunku Imran.