Bulgarian weightlifters banned from Rio Olympics

Houston: Bulgaria will not be allowed to compete in weightlifting at next year's Rio Olympics for mass positive doping tests, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has declared.

IWF made the decision Thursday to give out the punishment after 11 Bulgarian weightlifters were tested positive for doping earlier this year, reports Xinhua.

The federation also said it decided to remove one Olympic berth from Romania because of multiple positive doping cases during the qualification period for the Rio Games.

The IWF's executive board, meeting here for two days prior to the world championships, concluded its gathering with a report that included the ban on Bulgaria at Rio.

"Bulgaria is not eligible to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games," a federation statement said on Thursday.

The Bulgarians withdrew from the European championships earlier this year after testing positive for steroids.