Kazakh track and field athlete Ayana Bolatbekkyzy has been provisionally suspended from the Asian Games in Japan after a positive doping test, the International Testing Agency said, according to infohub.kz.
The banned substance was found in a sample taken from the athlete on September 27 during in-competition testing in Nagoya. It is a metabolite of drostanolone, a synthetic anabolic steroid that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibits at all times, both in and out of competition.
The decision took effect immediately. Until the official proceedings are concluded, the 19-year-old runner is barred from competing, training, coaching or taking any other part in the Games in Aichi and Nagoya.
At this stage the decision is provisional. Bolatbekkyzy has the right to request the opening and analysis of her B sample and to challenge the provisional suspension before the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD).
Earlier, Kursiv reported that Kazakh athlete Yasmine Toksanbayeva was stripped of her 2026 Asian Games gold in the marathon race walk.
On September 27, Toksanbayeva was the first to complete the marathon race walking distance with a time of 3 hours 22 minutes 20 seconds. The Kazakh finished almost four minutes ahead of her nearest rival and was initially declared the winner of the competition.
After the finish, technical delegates inspected the footwear of the three medalists in the men's and women's events. It turned out that the model of Toksanbayeva's shoes was not on the list approved by World Athletics. Photographs of the footwear and the necessary information were sent to the international federation, and the award ceremony was postponed until an official ruling was received.
World Athletics subsequently confirmed that the model used by the Kazakh athlete did not meet current requirements. Under the international federation's rules, an athlete's result in such a case is declared invalid, after which the final competition protocol is adjusted.
Competition footwear requirements were updated by a World Athletics Council decision of March 19, 2026 and took effect on April 20. As the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan clarified, information about the changes was sent to all national federations.