The Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (Tawa) will not send its athletes to next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo after its stars tested positive.
"The Thai athletes will not participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the qualifying events for Tokyo 2020," the association said in a statement yesterday.
The self-imposed ban was announced after six Thai weightlifters tested positive during the IWF World Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in November.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) earlier said they are Duanganksnorn Chaidee, Teerapat Chomchuen, Sopita Tanasan, Sukanya Srisurat, Thunya Sukcharoen and Chitchanok Pulsabsakul. All but Teerapat are female.
Sopita and Sukanya were Thailand's only two gold medal winners at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Sukanya and Chitchanok had also tested positive in 2011 and suspended for two years.
In the latest case, the Thais were caught when the IWF carried out extra tests in Cologne, Germany, on samples taken last November from "target athletes" at the competition in Turkmenistan.
Even before the decision to opt out of the 2020 Olympics was announced, Thailand were facing a ban from weightlifting under a rule that suspends any nation with three or more positives in a calendar year for up to four years.
The IWF is expected to announce its measures on the matter later this month.
Tawa said in the statement that a committee had been set up to look into the findings of the IWF.
It added that all Thai weightlifters have to undergo tests before taking part in international events under Tawa's anti-doping policy and that the tests on the Thais before they left for Turkmenistan showed no positive results.
Meanwhile, Thailand will host the IWF World Championships in Pattaya from Sept 18-19.
Tawa confirmed its intention to organise the competition although no Thais will take part in it.
"The Thai athletes will not participate in any international events and championships from now on until the situation is resolved," the statement said.
The move will surely deal a blow to Thailand's hopes of winning gold medals in Tokyo.
Weightlifting is the country's most successful discipline at the Olympics.
Thailand have claimed only nine Olympic gold medals, five of them in weightlifting.
The IWF said the Thai cases have "potential consequences that could seriously damage the integrity of the sport".
The cases are a fresh embarrassment for weightlifting, which is under pressure from the International Olympic Committee.
Weightlifting has only a provisional place on the programme for the 2024 Paris Olympics on condition it cracks down on doping.
Dozens of weightlifters who competed at the last three Olympics have later tested positive.
Russia and China were among nine countries banned from international competitions for a year in 2017 after racking up numerous doping cases.
Russia and Bulgaria missed Rio over doping, and countries with major drug problems will have fewer qualifying places in Tokyo. bangkok post/ap
