Chan back to clear her name in drug controversy
Hurdler Chan Sau-ying returned to Hong Kong last night ready to face a Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) hearing on her positive test for the banned stimulant ephedrine.
Chan, who tested positive after a meeting in June in Zagreb, said she had nothing to hide and was confident the HKAAA would accept her explanation.
She said she took a cough remedy before the event and was ignorant to the fact that it contained a banned substance.
'I think it will just be a get together with HKAAA officials to explain my case,' she said last night at the Kai Tak Airport arrival hall.
'It was all a mistake. I didn't take anything intentionally. If I did, I would be running 12.6 instead of struggling with 13.5s.' Chan pointed out that her time at the Zagreb event was a slow 13.63.
She said a lot of confusion arose because the HKAAA was unable to reach her until one month after the test results were known.
'I had two weeks to make an appeal but because I didn't know about it, I lost that chance,' she said. 'Maybe it was my fault and I should have kept in touch with the association more often.
'But now that I'm in Hong Kong I can defend myself.' Chan will travel to Sheffield, England for a grade two event at the weekend before returning to Hong Kong to prepare for October's All China Games in Shanghai.
The IAAF originally suspended her for three months but she was free to run again when the governing body abolished the rule for minor drugs like ephedrine.
Instead, she received a public warning. A second offence would result in a two-year ban.
