Russian teenager banned from tennis for nine months following anti-doping breach https://twitter.com/MaksymKolyvar/status/966395824363711648
Dmitry Shikulin, a Russian tennis player, was banned from the sport for nine months following a doping case. His ban was handed down on Wednesday. It means he will not be able to compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Shikulin admitted a positive test for the anabolic steroid nandrolone three times following a positive test for the banned drug erythropoietin in March 2019.
He was given a two-year suspension by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the punishment, ruling that Shikulin is not an ‘absolute’ ban, but suspended for three years.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Court of Arbitration Decision (CCD) have banned Shikulin from the sport for life.
The ITA confirmed that it has informed the ITF of their decision to suspend Shikulin, who has represented his country in a number of major events including this year’s French Open.
Shikulin began to face an uphill battle to return to the tour after two months of injury and is believed to be keen to return to competitive tennis. However, the ban imposed by the ITA may give him the opportunity to prove his point.
The suspension, imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, will see Shikulin not be able to take part in any ITA-sanctioned tournaments until December 2020.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s sanctions, announced on 24 September 2019, will see Shikulin banned for 11 months from the sport, starting on 23 January 2020.
What was he doing in Russia?
Dmitry Shikulin. Image: Maksim Kolyvar / Maksim Kolyvar / Wikimedia Commons)
Shikulin is an tennis player from Moscow and was born on 2 November 1993. He went to a high