KUALA LUMPUR: Navy rider Mohammed Shahrul Afiza Fauzan can still appeal for a lighter suspension but he must act quickly.
Shahrul, who tested positive for anabolic steroids at the Tour of Selangor in October, was slapped with a four-year ban by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) on Monday.
MNCF anti-doping committee chairman Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said the rider’s appeal must justify the reduction in suspension.
"After receiving the official suspension letter from the MNCF, Shahrul can appeal to us but it must be done within two weeks. He must explain how the substance had entered his system," said Amarjit.
"We had to suspend him for four years as he did not attend the hearing to explain himself. He also decided not to have his B sample tested.
"That (not testing B sample) is his right but it also implies that he admits that there was a banned substance in his sample."
In addition to snubbing the hearing, the MNCF doping committee were also unhappy with the written explanation Shahrul had previously sent to the national body.
The positive sample was taken during the third stage of the Tour of Selangor on Oct 19 which saw riders starting in Shah Alam and finishing in Pandan Indah.
Translated from Berita Harian