Judoka Mohamed Samin Faizad tests positive in anti-doping control

Paris. Afghan judoka Mohamed Samin Faizad has tested positive in an anti-doping control at Paris-2024, the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced on Friday, becoming the second positive case of the Olympic Games.

Faizad, 21, is part of the six-member Afghan team invited by the IOC to Paris and had been eliminated in the first round of the -81kg category on Tuesday when he was tested.

He tested positive for stanazolol, an anabolic steroid banned under the world anti-doping code, according to an ITA press release informing him of the result on August 1.

He has since been suspended and can challenge this provisional suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Faizad denied taking doping in a video shared by Afghan media on Saturday.

In it, he explained that he was injured four months ago while at a training camp in Uzbekistan and was undergoing treatment, suggesting that was why he tested positive.

“I’m an athlete, not a doctor. How am I supposed to know if a drug contains steroids or if I could fail a drug test?” he said.

The IOC chose the Afghan delegation without consulting Kabul.

Faizad, ranked 446th in the world, booked his ticket to the Olympics during a tournament in the Afghan capital where he faced around 100 competitors.

The first case of doping announced at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also occurred in judo, with Iraqi Sajjad Sehen testing positive for a banned anabolic substance.