ASTANA. KAZINFORM Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture and Sport Moldir Abdualiyeva has commented on the doping scandal involving Kazakh weightlifter Igor Son, Kazinform correspondent reports.

«By the WADA regulations, professional athletes achieving high results, Olympic champions and prizewinners regularly undergo doping tests. Igor Son’s blood sample was taken again on March 2, 2022, at a tournament in Zhetysu, and the result was positive,» she said. Methasterone

According to the WADA standards, the samples were tested several times. It was decided to impose an 8-year suspension on the athlete, which will last from March 8, 2022, to March 28, 2030.

«Since his blood test at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 was negative, his bronze medal of the 2020 Olympic Games, cash prize, and the apartment awarded by the state will not be taken away from him,» she said.

Earlier, it was reported, that some Kazakhstani athletes had been disqualified based on positive doping tests.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Igor Son received an eight-year ban after testing positive for methasterone. This is the second disqualification in the career of the 24-year-old sportsman. In 2015, he was disqualified for several months after the World Junior Championships, but then he managed to prove that the banned drug got into his body with a dietary supplement.

Other athletes Alexey Drozdov, Ablay Auelkhanov, Yulia Potassova, and Rufina Chalkarova received their respective bans until March 28, 2026.

Muscle Building Steroids Another weightlifter Karina Zhunuspayeva was disqualified until October 21, 2025, for oxandrolone. Taekwondo practitioner Zhassurbek Israilov tested positive for meldonium and will be disqualified until November 18, 2025.