China Olympic judo champion Tong banned for two years

Beijing: Chinese Olympic judo champion Tong Wen has been banned for two years and stripped of her world title after failing a doping test at the world championships in the Netherlands last year.

Tong, who claimed the women`s 78kg title at the 2008 Beijing Games and won a fourth world championship at Rotterdam, had tested positive for banned substance Clenbuterol, Chinese state media reported late on Saturday.The International Judo Federation issued the ban at a council meeting in Tunis on Friday, Xinhua news agency said, citing a Chinese judo official. Ma Wenguang, the director of China`s weightlifting, wrestling and judo administration centre, told Xinhua the sport`s governing body "would seriously deal with it". The International Judo Federation was unavailable for comment. Clenbuterol is often used to treat breathing disorders, rising blood pressure and for oxygen transportation. "(It) can boost muscle, like an anabolic steroid," Zhao Jian, deputy director of the China Anti-Doping Agency. "We had tested Tong last year before she went to the Netherlands but found nothing at that moment," he added.Tong, China`s most successful judoka, won three world titles in the 78kg class between 2005-2009 and one in the open category in 2003. Bureau Report