Lee Chong Wei decision in time for Worlds?

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) could take up to three weeks to hand down a decision in Malaysian superstar Lee Chong Wei’s doping case, according to a report appearing last night on the online edition of Malaysian daily The Star.  The report says that the three-member independent panel conducted an 8-hour hearing.

Lee tested positive for dexamethasone at last year’s BWF World Championships, an infraction which normally carries a 2-year suspension.  If Lee’s defense team has managed to persuade the panel wave the suspension or even to reduce the sanction to as little as nine months, then Lee could be eligible to participate in this year’s World Championships, which will begin almost exactly nine months after the announcement, last November, that Lee had been provisionally suspended.  However, Lee’s participation in the 2015 Worlds may now hinge on the timing of the decision, as the eligibility lists will also be released in 19 days.

According to Regulation 10.9 of the BWF Anti-Doping Regulations, the period of suspension will date from the beginning of the provisional suspension – which was announced on November 11th, 2014 – unless the player voluntarily accepts a provisional suspension in writing.

Click here to read the report from the website of The Star