Fresh off making their 2017 China Sources list, this is my debut China Sports column for SupChina, which you can read in full here. Below is a summary of what went on this week.
First up, doping…
China says it’s been ramping up its anti-doping efforts over the past few months in the run-up to the Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, which kick off on February 9. But of the 17,000+ tests that the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) carried out last year, the agency uncovered 77 doping violations from among 132 positive tests — both figures way up from 2016. Some punishments from the past month:
Speed skater Li Yanzhe, steroids, four year ban
Marathoner Wang Jiali, EPO, eight year ban