SEA Games 2019 News 028: No SEA Games for Thai Weightlifters Yet

Weightlifting is one of the sports which produced medals for Thailand in world championships and even in Olympics.

But things might change because of the Thai lifters' doping results. 

Thailand's weightlifters are unsure of getting go signal to compete in international tournaments.

For the meantime, Thailand Amateur Weightlifting Association (TAWA) has decided not to send anyone to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or to any qualifying competitions.

The decision was made after eight Thai weightlifters were tested positive for banned substances at last year's world championships in Turkmenistan.

This includes Olympic gold medalists Sopita Tanasan (48kg) and Sukanya Srisurat (58kg).

All athletes had undergone tests in Thailand before going to Turkmenistan and the Thai anti-doping agency did not find any traces of banned substances.

However, they will still not field any weightlifters to international competitions until the case is resolved.

At the 30th Southeast Asian Games, weightlifting offers 10 gold medals and  the event likewise serves as an Olympic qualifying competition according to source.

According to tournament results in weightlifting, host country might only banking on Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz and the rest are up for grabs for other countries like Indonesia and Vietnam.

If  TAWA made it final not to send athletes to tournaments abroad including SEA Games, however it still intends to host the World Championships that will happen on September 18 to 27.