Weightlifter Mabia Akhter Simanta has been banned for two years after testing positive in a doping test.
The sample was taken around the Islamic Solidarity Games held in Riyadh last year. The test found banned diuretics in her body. Based on this, the Result Management Committee of the South Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization gave the ban under the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
She received the decision through a letter last Thursday. She has the right to appeal under the anti-doping rules.
This ban means she will stay out of all international and competitive events for two years. Officials said the process followed the WADA code.
Experts say such results can sometimes come from taking medicine without proper advice or from contaminated supplements. For the 26-year-old, this is a big setback. It puts her career under threat. But the decision could change if she appeals.
Mabia started weightlifting in 2010 at the National Stadium with help from her uncle. She became a top name in the country from 2013.
She made history at the South Asian Games in 2016. She won gold in the 63 kg category and gave Bangladesh its first gold in weightlifting. The win made her well known. She won another gold in 2019 in Pokhara and became champion in back to back editions.
