Thailand’s 19-year-old badminton star Pitchamon Opatniputh has been provisionally suspended from the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after an out-of-competition sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for furosemide.
Furosemide is a prohibited diuretic and masking agent under WADA’s S5 category. The sample was collected in Nagoya on September 17, just days before the Games officially opened. Pitchamon was ranked No.18 in the world and was scheduled to play in Thailand’s women’s team quarter-final against China.
However, the suspension is provisional and does not represent a final ruling. Pitchamon has the right to challenge the suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and request analysis of her B-sample. There is currently no public conclusion about how the substance entered her system or whether there was any intent to violate the rules.
A major setback for one of Thailand’s brightest young badminton stars.
