Sporting Digest: Drugs in sport

The world men's badminton doubles champion, Budiarto Sigit of Indonesia, has been suspended for 13 months after testing positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone at the Konica Cup in Singapore in August. Sigit, 22, was also fined $2,000 and he and his doubles partner, Candra Wijaya, had to forfeit their $10,000 in prize-money and ranking points from winning the tournament.

A German Athletics Federation doctor, Karlheinz Graff, has said he suspects several German athletes of taking erythropoietin or using some form of blood doping. Graff said he had received requests from two athletes for plasma, which can be used to fight blood thickening which might result from taking erythropoietin.

South Korea have pulled their women's artistic gymnastics team out of next month's Asian Games in Bangkok after four of the squad failed drug tests. The Korea Gymnastics Association also sacked three coaches.