China urges no accidental doping slip-ups at Paralympics after focus on swimmers in Paris
- Leading sports official calls for strong management of food, drugs and nutritional supplements to prevent ‘accidental consumption incidents’
A senior Chinese sports official has called for management of food, drugs and nutritional supplements to be strengthened to prevent accidental doping, and for continuous anti-doping efforts by the country at the Paris Paralympics.
Liu Guoyong, a deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China, warned that there should be no “slip-ups”.
The comments follow intense scrutiny of the country’s athletes at the Paris Olympics. It was revealed this year that 23 swimmers had been cleared of wrongdoing after recording positive doping tests in 2021.
Anti-doping efforts had an impact on the national image, according to Liu, who urged Chinese athletes to “earn respect through strength and integrity”, state media said on Wednesday.
Liu also reportedly said athletes would have to deal with challenges including “disruptions and interferences from Western powers” at the Paralympics, which begin next Wednesday.
“We must be cautious, especially when it comes to the management of food, medicine and nutritional products,” Liu reportedly said on Tuesday during a Chinese Paralympians conference.
