A high-profile doping case involving Olympic weightlifting champion Liao Hui has brought the sport into disrepute, a top Chinese anti-doping official told Xinhua on Friday.
China's gold medalist at the men's 69-kilogram category at the Beijing Olympics appears on the list of competitors suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation, which is released on the IWF's official website.
The 24-year-old Liao will be banned till Sept. 30, 2014, set to miss the London Olympic Games.
Zhao Jian, deputy director of the Chinese Anti-doping Agency, said this positive case brought "bad influence" on the image of Chinese weightlifting and Chinese sports.
Liao, from central China's Hubei Province, won the 69kg division at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and shattered two world records in the world championships the same year.
"The Chinese Anti-doping Agency has been monitoring the elite athletes, who have received more doping tests than less known athletes," said Zhao.
"Liao's case means that the anti-doping campaign isn't a fight that can be won once for all. It is a battle that we will fight for long time."