Sports

Robert Farah’s provisional ban lifted by International Tennis Federation

Sentinel Digital Desk

Bogota: The International Tennis Federation has lifted the provisional suspension it imposed on reigning Wimbledon and the US Open men’s doubles champion Robert Farah following his positive test for the banned substance Boldenone, an anabolic steroid.

As a result of the ITF’s decision, the Canadian-born Colombian player has been cleared to return to competition immediately, reports Efe news.

“Mr. Farah’s account of how the Boldenone entered his system was accepted and it was determined that he bears no fault or negligence for the violation,” the ITF said in a statement on Monday.

That substance was found in a urine sample that Farah had provided in Cali, Colombia, in an out-of-competition test on October 17, 2019, and which was analysed at a World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Montreal, Canada, the ITF said on January 21.

Farah had said in a letter posted January 14 on social media that he had not knowingly broken the rules, noting that he had presented a clean sample just two weeks before the positive test and that no banned substances had been found in “at least 15 other random tests throughout the year.” IANS