Testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs has spelt disaster, not only for the Iranian super heavyweight lifter Rashid Sharifi, but also for his team-mates.

Sharifi, who came first in the 105+ KG category in the Asian games held in Kazakhstan earlier this year, lost his gold medal when his doping was confirmed, reported Sarmayeh daily today.

His disqualification meant that his gold went to the runner up, which, in this case, was another Iranian, the silver-winner Behzad Salimi.

Still, despite Salimi's 'new' gold, the overall ranking of the Iranian weightlifting team dropped two places, because the loss of his silvers meant deducting 75 points from the previously continent-leading 583 mark.

This meant that they were dropped into third by Kazakhstan and China with 555 and 551 points respectively.

As for the culprit Sharifi, who claims to have fallen afoul of the regulations by taking analgesics to relieve a pain in his knees during the tournament, he has been banned from participating in competitions for four years and will not be allowed back before he is 29 years old.

This will definitely be painful for the young man hailed by some as a possible successor to the phenomenal Hossein Rezazadeh, who is still the world and Olympic record-holder, even after retiring from competitions.

This is the second doping scandal for the Iranian weightlifters in recent years. In 2007, 11 of them were banned for doping.

This might prompt the Iranian Weightlifting Federation to take more serious steps in rooting out this seemingly ongoing abuse.

ZAP/MB