Pelo visto Ovtcharov vai se safar mesmo. Já está se falando em não punição também para Contador:
[b]Ovtcharov’s doping suspension lifted
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)—Olympic medalist Dimitrij Ovtcharov’s doping suspension was lifted by Germany’s table tennis federation on Friday.
Federation president Thomas Weikert announced it was closing the case because it received a report from Cologne doping expert Wilhelm Schaenzer that Ovtcharov probably didn’t deliberately ingest the banned substance clenbuterol, an anabolic agent that can be used to reduce body fat.
“There is no culpable violation (of doping regulations),” Weikert said. “He is eligible to complete as of today.”
Ovtcharov, at a career-high world ranking of 12th, denied knowingly ingesting clenbuterol, after he tested positive at the China Open in August. He argued that he likely ate contaminated meat in China.
Schaenzer’s report said clenbuterol was known to be used in feeding animals and that “the intake of clenbuterol through contaminated food was the likeliest explanation for the finding.”
“A doping related use of clenbuterol is highly unlikely,” Schaenzer wrote in his report.
Ovtcharov’s lawyer Michael Lehner had his client provide a hair sample to be examined and it was negative.
The ruling could help in clearing Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of doping suspicions.
It was Schaenzer’s lab that nabbed Contador, who also blamed a steak for his positive test for clenbuterol.
Clenbuterol is often used to speed up growth and increase muscle mass in animals, including chickens, cattle and pigs. It is also used by bodybuilders.
Contador has been provisionally suspended after the International Cycling Union said a “small concentration” of clenbuterol was found in his urine sample on July 21 during the Tour de France, which the Spanish rider won for a third time.
Contador blamed the finding on “food contamination,” saying he ate beef brought from Spain to France on a rest day.[/b]
