Baseball catcher tests positive for banned substance

SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean professional baseball league said Friday a veteran catcher has tested positive for a banned substance.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Choi Kyung-chul, an 11-year backstop for the Samsung Lions, failed a doping test administered by the Korea Anti-Doping Agency (KADA).

The KADA, which tested Choi during the Lions' spring training in February in Japan, found the presence of stanozolol, an anabolic steroid and a banned substance, in his urine sample. He has since admitted to taking stanozolol and the Lions removed him from their active roster on Thursday.

The KADA began running drug tests for professional sports leagues last year. In the KBO, a first-time offender faces a suspension of up to 72 games, while players who fail tests for a second time will be banned for an entire season.

If the KADA finalizes its penalty on Choi in the next 10 to 15 days, he'll be the seventh KBO player to face a doping suspension.

The most recent player to be banned was Jim Adduci, a former major leaguer who tested positive for oxycodone last June while playing for the Lotte Giants.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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