The Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) on Tuesday (December 12^th) revealed that three athletes including Malaysian gold medal per Wendy Ng Yan Yee failed doping tests at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games (KL2017).

Besides Wendy Ng Yan Yee, two Thai athletes – pencak silat exponent Nurisan Loseng and swimmer Benjaporn Sriphanomthorn – also failed the B sample test conducted recently.

Malaysian per Wendy Ng Yan Yee. (Photo: Bernama)

SEAGF President Tunku Imran Tuanku Jaafar said their victories and the medals would be withdrawn.

"They will be disqualified in all events and the medals will be taken away from them," he said at a news conference. "If they won gold, the winner of the silver medal will be announced as the winner and will be given the gold medal."

Ng will be stripped of the gold medals she won at KL2017, in the women's 3m springboard inpidual and 3m springboard synchronised event with Nur Dhabitah Sabri.

For the women's 3m springboard inpidual, Nur Dhabitah who finished in second place, will be awarded the gold medal while as for the 3m springboard synchronised, the gold medal goes to Singapore’s Ashlee Tan Yi Xuan and Fong Kay Yian.

Nurisan, who helped her team win gold in women's team art event, has to give way to the silver medallist from Vietnam. Benjaporn meanwhile, loses two silver medals in the 10km open water swimming and 4x200m team relay event.

Singapore's Chantal Liew is awarded the silver medal in the 10km open water event, while the Philippines’ relay team now takes silver in the 4x200m.

All three athletes had tested positive for the banned substance sibutramine by the World Anti-Doping Agency at its laboratory in New Delhi on October 11^th. Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant which is commonly found in weight loss supplements.

The doping results mean that Singapore's gold medal haul at the Games increases to 58, while Vietnam's gold medal tally edges a notch to 59./.

VNF/CNA