Talha says doping result of ‘unintentional mistake’

LAHORE: Weightlifter Talha Talib has declared his positive dope test result as an unintentional move.

In a letter written to the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) after he failed a dope test recently, Talha stated that he did it unknowingly. Surprise tests were conducted by the International Testing Agency along with International Weightlifting Federation in Gujranwala and Lahore for all Pakistan weightlifters.

Test reports revealed signs of prohibited medicines in samples of three weightlifters, including Talha, which could lead to a ban of four years. He was suspended on March 14.

In his letter to PWF, Talha claimed that “he had no idea about the presence of prohibited substance in his body” while also stating that he would “never even think about violating doping rules”.

However, the 22-year-old also said that “he could have made an unintentional mistake, which could be due to lack of knowledge, and for that he is sorry”. Talha, whose previous nine dope tests all came back negative, has also decided against submitting B-sample as he trusts the laboratory results.

It must be noted that Talha won the first-ever medal for Pakistan in the World Weightlifting Championship, bagging bronze at Tashkent last year. He narrowly missed out on winning an Olympic medal for Pakistan at 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I have always kept my focus on training and making my country proud through lawful means,” Talha stated.