National badminton icon Lee Chong Wei consumed the health supplement cordyceps from unmarked containers given to him by the wife of “a very influential man” in Malaysia, possibly leading to his body having traces of the banned substances that got him banned from the sport.
According to Reuters, the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) 12-page report on Lee’s conduct chastised him for being negligent in determining the sources and purity of his health supplements.
“From an athlete in such a prominent position the demands of caution to avoid negligence are expected to be very high. Even though he has been cautious, Lee Chong Wei has not met the required level,” the report reads.
“Mr Lee exposed himself for a completely unnecessary risk of consuming illegal substance for many years.”
Lee will once again be able to compete professionally on May 1, after a retroactive 8-month ban imposed by the BWF for failing a doping test at the World Championships in Copenhagen last August.
His urine sample taken in Copenhagen showed that he had traces of the non-performance enhancer dexamethasone in his system.
The former world #1 had always been a regular consumer of cordyceps, a fungal byproduct renowned for its benefits for improving respiration and heart functions, since his teenage years, when his mother recommended the substance to him.
Up until 2007, it was Lee’s mother who would supply him with fresh batches of cordyceps, often processed fresh and packed into gelatin capsules, and sent from the shuttler’s hometown of Ipoh to his new home in KL.
In 2007, however, Lee began accepting supplies of cordyceps from a friend referred to in the BWF report only as “the wife of a very influential man in Malaysia”.
Lee refused to name the person in question, as he feared she would suffer repercussions should her identity be made public.
The BWF report also noted that after finding out about the new source of his cordyceps, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) advised Lee that it was alright for him to keep on his two-capsule a day regimen, as cordyceps were food-based and not prohibited.
BAM also decided that it was not necessary to have Lee tested for banned substances, as his cordyceps consumption had never led to any problems previously.
“It is worrying if he has received unsatisfactory anti-doping education from BAM or other sources and/or the focus on anti-doping security has been unsatisfactory,” the BWF report said.
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