Jin drug use an ‘honest mistake’

Diuretics, the banned substance found in taekwondo jin Esther Marie Singson’s urine sample, is not a performance-enhancing drug but a masking agent for other banned substances.

Sports medicine expert Dr. Raul Canlas said Singson, an 18-year-old Economics student at University of Santo Tomas, did use diuretics — a substance that conceals performance-enhancing steroids.

"However, Singson tested negative for any form of steroids," clarified Canlas in a statement.

Philippine Taekwondo Association president Robert Aventajado, for his part, said it was an honest mistake on the part of the Filipina jin since diuretics is also found in slimming teas.

Canlas also defended the Philippine Sports Center for Sports Medicine for giving the go signal for Singson to compete after the mandatory drug tests last Nov. 22. He explained that there was no test conducted that would detect the presence of the substance.

Aventajado said Singson admitted to have taken a type of herbal slimming tea weeks before the Games to help her achieve the required weight in her class.

"Esther’s target weight was 55 kilos, she weighed 57 kilos early October 2005," Aventajado, who is also the Philippine Olympic Committee chair, stressed.

Singson said she was unaware the slimming tea, Kankunis, was a diuretic.

"I have no intention to cheat in the games," Singson told GMA television. "Now, all my dreams, all my efforts, have vanished."

In medicine, diuretics are used to treat heart failure, liver cirrhosis, hypertension and certain kidney diseases. In the list of herbal teas, diuretics or traces of it are found in only five medicinal herbs.

It is included in the 2006 list of prohibited drugs of the World Anti-Doping Code.

The code, however, allows an athlete to use diuretics only if he or she has illnesses or conditions that require a particular medication. In this case, an athlete can file for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

But since Singson admitted to have used it for weight loss, she is disqualified to apply for TUE.

Aventajado said the PTA will await the decision of the World Taekwondo Federation before making any action against Singson, who will be stripped of the gold medal she won in December’s Southeast Asian Games, and possibly, be asked to return the P100,000 incentive that went with it.

"We will not impose any sanction on her at the moment. We stand by the innocence of our athlete. Clearly, she did not take any drug that would have given her advantage. It was just an honest mistake," Aventajado said.

The SEAG Federation is expected to meet late this month in Malaysia to decide on the fates of a number of athletes found to be positive for banned substances by a medical facility in Beijing, China accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). — With report from AP