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Doping ban player to fight guilt by giving birth

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-09-14 13:05

Banned Hong Kong badminton player Zhou Mi plans to prove her innocence in a failed drug test by giving birth to a baby, Guangzhou Daily reported Tuesday.

Related readings:  Two-year doping ban for HK shuttler Zhou Mi  Hong Kong's Zhou banned for two years

The 31-year-old star, who is serving a two year ban for failing the dope screening, said: "In order to prove my innocence, I will resort to delivering a baby as soon as possible. Because I believe never dare anyone who takes drugs do this."

Zhou received her ban on September 1 from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after being found to have traces of the anabolic agent clenbuterol in her system in June. She insists she was unaware of using any medication that contained the prohibited substance, though admitted buying medicine for a cold during a badminton tournament in Southeast Asia before she failed the drug test.

"I used to take that (medicine) for illness, and nothing goes wrong with it. I am still unsure whether it is responsible for the result. "

She also believes the two-year ban is too harsh and, in the worst case, could result in her retirement from the sport.

"I still think it (the ban) is unfair, since I never resorted to drugs for improving my game. I am supposed to receive a warning as punishment. And if I failed the appeal, it will be extremely difficult for me to continue training. Whether to become a coach is not up to me, either. "