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SCMP Reporter

When did you offer to join the  anti-doping programme?
I first read about doping in 1988 when Ben Johnson was stripped of his 100-metre Olympic gold medal for using anabolic steroids. As a trained doctor, I soon found myself obsessed with the topic.
Then came the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. Before the event, there was no anti-doping infrastructure in China.  But to meet the event's standards, China set up its first ever anti-doping laboratory and recruited volunteer testers to operate the lab during the Games. I filed my application and got admitted after going through a series of examinations.
What is your job like as a drug tester?
I am at the very bottom of the chain. A tester is obliged to collect urine or blood samples of athletes. It sounds like a simple task but, in practice, each operation has to follow a stringent protocol to ensure the integrity of the process.
The mission also requires business trips to almost every province on the mainland - almost 70 per cent of the tests are out-of-competition ones carried out randomly.
We usually travel in pairs, like police detectives. I spend up to three weeks on the road every year.
Why have you done this for 17 years without being paid a penny?
Initially, as a sports fan, I was propelled by a curiosity about Chinese star athletes. Through this part-time job, I enjoyed the privilege of meeting some of the country's best athletes in person, including my favourite, Deng Yaping (multiple world table tennis champion). But as the years  wore on, I drew a special sense of fulfilment from it.
There are fewer than 300 testers, or inspectors, at the laboratory, which gives a sense of exclusivity. But the essential reason why I've stuck with it lies in China's remarkable progress in this area as a whole over the past decade. There were dark days in the mid-90s when hordes of Chinese athletes were caught doping in international competitions.
Naturally, people pointed fingers at us for collaborating in what was described as systematic cheating. But we didn't give in and responded with establishing one of the most sophisticated anti-doping investigation mechanisms in the world.
I'm particularly proud of being part of the project.
What's the most challenging part of the job?
Anti-doping is essentially a catch-and-run game. We sometimes have to operate like an FBI agent. In the case of an out-of-competition test, I'm usually kept in the dark  about where I will go and who I am going to test until minutes before I board the plane.
Sometimes, the hardest part is to wait for the athlete. They are supposed to be informed at short notice about the test and arrive at a designated training complex before a pre-determined deadline.
It's ordinary for me to wait for hours before the subject arrives. The waiting is full of uncertainty and you have to prepare yourself for all untoward situations.
Has anybody ever tried to bribe you  or tamper with a test?
It's an art to deter people from attempting to do such things. If it happened, even if you rejected the offer, you could get yourself in trouble.
I wouldn't say people have never tried. But I'm confident that I have mastered the art of deterrence very well.
How do you strike a balance between being a drug tester and your full-time job as a doctor?
Fortunately, my hospital is very accepting of my 'hobby'. In fact, they view it as an honour and my colleagues admire my involvement in the sport system. So I never have trouble asking for extra holidays for anti-doping business trips.
Will you be part of the Olympics anti-doping programme next year?
Yes, I will work as an on-site volunteer tester in the basketball tournament. It will be the same old job except that I have to brush up my English to meet the Games' requirements.



Doctor tracks down the drug cheats in sport