Iranian boxer banned for two years

Iranian boxer Salman Karimi, who withdrew from the Athens Olympics after saying he had broken his hand, has tested positive for drugs and been banned for two years, the official news agency IRNA said yesterday.

A disciplinary committee of the Iranian Boxing Federation (IBF) handed down the ban on Saturday, it said.

Karimi qualified in the 69 kg division.

IRNA said Karimi had said prior to his trip to the Athens Olympics that he had broken his hand during training. The IBF did not believe him and ordered him to undergo a drugs test.