Did he really win a medal by defeating Korea and then get caught for doping? Uzbek MMA fighter exposed → First-ever 'medal stripping' crisis at the tournament [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

An athlete who defeated a Korean competitor and stood on the Asian Games podium has ultimately been caught for using banned substances. This marks the first doping violation among medalists at this tournament, putting his medal at risk of being stripped.

According to reports from the International Testing Agency (ITA) and multiple foreign media outlets on the 27th (Korean time), Nodirbek Shavkatov of Uzbekistan, who won the bronze medal in the men's 71kg category of modern combat sports at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, tested positive for a banned substance and has been issued an interim suspension.

The substance detected in Shavkatov's sample was "Meldonium," a banned drug designated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Originally used as a treatment for ischemic heart disease, Meldonium enhances oxygen intake and energy metabolism to maximize cardiorespiratory endurance and aid muscle recovery. Its use is strictly prohibited not only during competition periods but also at all other times.

The reason this case has drawn intense attention lies in the circumstances surrounding his medal acquisition. Shavkatov had previously defeated South Korea's Choi Eun-seok in the quarterfinals held on the 20th to advance to the semifinals. Although he lost to Kazakhstan's Kadirbek Shynbayev in the semifinals on the 21st, missing out on a spot in the final, he secured a bronze medal by finishing jointly third and stood on the podium. He now faces unavoidable criticism for using "the power of drugs" to block a Korean athlete's medal challenge on a stage where fair play should be fundamental.

This violation was confirmed through an out-of-competition doping test conducted locally in Japan after the event concluded on the 22nd. As part of his interim suspension, Shavkatov is completely barred from participating in any training or competition for the remainder of this tournament. Shavkatov has the right to appeal to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport or request analysis of the B sample. However, if the B sample also confirms a positive result, his bronze medal will likely be immediately stripped.

Meanwhile, multiple doping violations have been reported consecutively during this Asian Games period. Before the opening ceremony, Thailand's badminton player Pichamon Opasnipat (Furosemide) was barred from competing, and Turkmenistan's Gong Su-do (CEO) Dayanchy Kelletliyev (Meldonium) received disciplinary action. Shavkatov is the third athlete caught for doping at this tournament and the first medalist on the podium to face such disgrace in this event.

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*This content was translated by AI.