Sports Shorts: Five weightlifters suspended after London 2012 retests

Five weightlifters, including two Olympic champions, have been provisionally suspended after retests of their samples from the 2012 London Olympics came back positive for doping, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said.

Ukraine’s Oleksiy Torokhtiy could now be stripped of the Olympic title he won in the 105-kg category in London while Azerbaijan’s Bulgaria-born Valentin Hristov could lose his bronze medal from the 56-kg category.

“The International Olympic Committee is responsible to decide about any consequences relating to the athletes’ participation in the 2012 London Olympic Games,” the IWF said.

“In all cases where it is determined that an Anti-Doping Rule Violation was committed, the responsibility to conduct results management will be transferred to the IWF in terms of consequences extending beyond the athletes’ Olympic Games participation.”

Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Nurudinov, who came fourth in the 105kg in London, Armenia’s Melanie Daluzyan and Belarus’s Mikalai Novikau were also suspended after the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) re-analysis discovered adverse analytical findings, the IWF said in a statement.

Nurudinov won the Olympic title in Rio in 2016 as well as the world title in Poland in 2013 and the gold medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta this year.

Inter suspend midfielder Nainggolan for disciplinary reasons

Inter Milan midfielder Radja Nainggolan was suspended by his club for disciplinary reasons on Sunday, capping an unhappy year which also saw the Belgian call time on his international career after missing the World Cup.

Inter’s decision means that Nainggolan, who was also dropped by AS Roma at the start of this year, will miss Wednesday’s match when third-placed Inter host second-placed Napoli in Serie A.

“FC Internazionale Milano can confirm that Radja Nainggolan has been temporarily suspended from football activity for disciplinary reasons,” said the club in a statement, without giving further details.

Italian media said Nainggolan had arrived late for a training session.