Take drugs from NSI, insists Yuvaraj

It was supposed to be proud moment for P.Yuvaraj, S.Kannathasan, Schzuan Ahmad Rosely and Yunus La Salleh.

The Malaysian quartet clocked 3:10:49s to win the gold medal while the Philippines came in second with the Thai sprinters finishing third.

However, the 4x400m team’s unexpected victory at the 2011 Palembang Sea Games, was marred with a doping incident after Yunus tested positive for methandienone, a drug commonly used as an aid for muscle growth.

Yuvaraj still remembers the incident that rocked the local athletics scene when the test results came in early last year but was quick to come to the defence of his team mate.

“Look, it’s very easy to blame (the athlete) but we know what happened to Yunus. He thought they (the drugs) were vitamins and took them without knowing it was actually a banned substance,” said Yuvaraj.

“But that doesn’t mean we have to be ignorant about what we consume. My philosophy is simple... only take medicine approved by the National Sports Institute (NSI). When it doubt, just consult them. It's as simple as that.”

Yuvaraj added that the recent admission by shamed cyclist Lance Armstrong to taking banned substance does not mean that all athletes take drugs.

“You can’t just push the blame on the athletes squarely and to doubt our local athletes...it isn’t fair. We have many tournaments such as the FTAAA meet and the Perak Open and tests are conducted at such events.

"These things do happen but we are regulated and to those who still insist on taking banned substance, they will face the consequences sooner or later," he said.