The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has sanctioned Liu Ning, the former Coach of the Thai weightlifting team, with a life ban from 15 March 2021, its List of Sanctions reveals. An eight year ban has also been issued to Boyanka Kostova, who was provisionally suspended after a sample collected by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on 5 April 2021 during the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) Championships in Moscow returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF – or ‘positive test’) for a metabolite of stanozolol. 

Kostova will be stripped of the Gold she won in the 59kg category at the European Championships, handing first place to Russia’s Olga Te (Ольга Тё). The reason for the lengthly ban is because it is the Azeri’s second offence. She was sanctioned with a two year ban from 10 June 2016 until 10 June 2018, after reanalysis of a sample she gave during the London 2012 Olympics returned an AAF for dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (oral Turinabol).

Liu Ning was sanctioned with a life ban for administration/attempted administration of a prohibited substance, and complicity. Ning was provisionally suspended on 19 March, and the Chinese Coach is understood to have been blamed for Thailand’s numerous AAFs at the 2018 World Championships.