When it comes to the world of sports, nothing seems to be going right for Pakistan, except for that gold by Arshad Nadeem at Paris Olympics. Now, one of their wrestlers, Ali Asad has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and has lost his CWG 2022 bronze medal as well. Not just that, the wrestler in question has also been issued a four-year suspension on the basis of International Testing Agency’s (ITA) findings.
“This incident is part of a broader issue within Pakistani sports, particularly in weightlifting and wrestling, where several athletes have faced suspensions due to doping violations,” PTI quoted an official.
In the recent times, four Pakistani weightlifters were banned for four years each, for doping offence. The likes of Abdur Rehman, Sharjeel Butt, Ghulam Mustafa, and Farhan Amjad had failed to provide samples to the ITA in November 2021. One of their weightlifters, Talha Talib, who had finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, is also suspended till Feb 2025.
Who is Ali Asad?
The 24-year-old Ali Asad competes in the men’s 57 kg freestyle category — same as India’s Ravi Dahiya. In fact, at the 2022 CWG, he lost to the Indian in the semis, but in his bronze medal bout, went on to beat New Zealand’s Suraj Singh.