JOIN USVikas to get Asiad bronze medal
Dheeb, who won the silver, tested positive for exogenous testosterone metabolites, according to the Olympic Council of Asia, which stripped him of the medal and stated that the results would be adjusted accordingly.
As such, Iran’s Mohd Samimi will be elevated to the silver position, behind compatriot Ehsan Hadadi while Vikas, who had finished fourth originally, will move up to third place. Hadadi had set an Asian Games record of 67.99 metres to win the gold in a terrific competition.
Dheeb set a Qatari record of 64.56 for the silver while Samimi had tossed the discus to 63.46 for the bronze. Vikas claimed the fourth spot with an effort of 63.13.
This will be the 27-year-old Vikas’ first Asian Games medal. Earlier in the season, he had picked up the silver at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Dheeb’s positive test was the fourth such case at the Guangzhou Asian Games. Two cases, involving an Uzbek judoka and a wrestler had cropped up during the Games period itself while the results of Dheeb and Palestine’s 800M runner Abdalnasser Awajna -- who went out in the first round itself -- were released on Monday. Awajna tested positive for norandrosterone, an anabolic agent.
OCA, which nullified the results of these two, said the cases would be forwarded to the International Association of Athletics Federations and World Anti-Doping Agency for further action on their part.