KUALA LUMPUR: High jumper Ngu Jia Xin has requested an appeal proceeding after failing to appear as stipulated by the Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia (ADAMAS) on March 18.
ADAMAS director Azura Abidin said the new appeal session will likely be held before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which will take place from July 26-Aug 11.
"We have not yet confirmed the appropriate date to hold the appeal proceedings session as requested by Jia Xin. ADAMAS is currently busy managing matters related to the Olympic Games and the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak in August," he told Bernama.
Jia Xin is serving a two-year suspension (June 2, 2023 to June 1, 2025) after being confirmed positive for doping.
ADAMAS discovered that the athlete tested positive for the banned substance sibutramine at the Malaysian Track and Field Championships at the National Sports Council (NSC) Mini Stadium in February last year.
Last April, Azura informed ADAMAS that they had contacted Jia Xin to attend the appeal proceedings, but their efforts came to a dead end after the 23-year-old athlete failed to do so.
Although Jia Xin failed to appear in March, she said the athlete still deserves to be given a second chance to make an appeal and undergo a fair trial session judged by the committee handling the case.
"Jia Xin still wants to be active. We just need to give her a chance. She is still young and has potential," she said. – BERNAMA