Badminton-Mauritian player Foo Kune banned for two years by CAS

Foo Kune tested positive for a banned steroid during the 2019 African Badminton World Championships in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, but a Badminton World Federation (BWF) panel ruled she bore no fault or negligence. The 27-year-old escaped sanction after contending that her positive test was the result of sabotage and that her water had been spiked by an "ill-intentioned individual".

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has banned Mauritian badminton player Kate Jessica Foo Kune for two years for an anti-doping violation. Foo Kune tested positive for a banned steroid during the 2019 African Badminton World Championships in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, but a Badminton World Federation (BWF) panel ruled she bore no fault or negligence.

The 27-year-old escaped sanction after contending that her positive test was the result of sabotage and that her water had been spiked by an "ill-intentioned individual". The BWF then appealed its own panel's decision not to ban Foo Kune to CAS, the highest legal authority in sport.

"On the basis of the evidence ... the CAS panel found the athlete's assertion of intentional spiking during the 2019 African Badminton World Championships devoid of supporting evidence," CAS said in a statement https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Media_Release_6587.pdf. As a result Foo Kune was banned for a period of two years, dated from Dec. 15, 2020, CAS added.

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