Incheon: Indian athlete Manju Bala’s hammer throw bronze won at the Asian Games on Friday upgraded to silver after China’s Zhang Wenxiu was stripped of the gold after failing a pre-competition dope test.
A sample taken from Zhang Sep 26 was found to contain banned substances Zeranol and its metabolite.
Zeranol is approved for use as a growth promoter in livestock, reports Xinhua.
“The competitor has been disqualified from the competition as well as these Games and as such her accreditation cancelled, and gold medal was withdrawn,” said an Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
Zhang set a new Asiad record with a farthest throw of 77.33 metres which earned her the gold.
Her compatriot Wang Zheng, who threw a best of 74.16m, will now be awarded the yellow metal while Manju’s throw of 60.47m will upgrade her bronze to a silver.
Japan’s Aya Masumi, who finished fourth with a throw of 59.84m, will be awarded the bronze.
The 28-year-old Zhang becomes the first Chinese athlete to be caught doping in major sporting events since the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games where a number of positive cases involving Chinese swimmers were reported.
