By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Thailand’s 2004 Athens Olympics boxing bronze medalist Suriya Prasathinphimai has been banned for one year by the Thai Amateur Boxing Association for doping during the last Southeast Asian Games.
The Bangkok Post reported that the president of the Association, Gen. Taweep Jantararoj said that although Suriya who won the gold medal at the Games which were staged in his home province of Nakhon Ratchasima claimed he was innocent, ABAT had no choice but to punish him.
Gen. Taweep said he believed the middleweight boxer did not take the banned substance on purpose as he was too strong for his SEA Games opponents and would have won the gold medal anyway.
Reporter Kittipong Thongsombat saud that the 26 year old Suriya has been “stripped of his SEA Games gold medal and could be further punished by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA).
Suriya was one of five athletes including the Philippines Ativeza Macasia who competed in the heptathlon who was also found to have taken a banned substance.
In the meantime Thailand who had eight boxers who qualified for the Beijing Olympics in August will compete in the Paris Open next week before their final warm-up tournament which will be the President’s Cup in Chinese-Taipei. The Philippines sole qualifier, flyweight Harry Tanamor is training and competing in Cuba, the acknowledged hotbed of amateur boxing in the country’s quest for a first Olympic gold.
