MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two Russian members of the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) have tested positive for meldonium, although response measured have been planned, FIAS President Vasily Shestakov said on Friday.
"Four athletes tested positive [for meldonium], two of these are Russian. As a federation, we will take appropriate measures and let the athletes learn lessons from this," Shestakov, who is also a State Duma Sports Committee member, told reporters.
Earlier on Friday, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that 27 Russian athletes had tested positive for the recently banned substance, a figure on a par with athletes in other countries.
FIAS will undertake measures in accord with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations, Shestakov said, adding that suspensions may be handed down.
The meldonium scandal began earlier in March, when Maria Sharapova, Russia's five-time Grand Slam tennis champion, admitted to having tested positive for the drug.
The World Anti-Doping Agency added meldonium to its banned substances list on January 1, 2016. The agency considers the drug to be a metabolic modulator that increases athletes' endurance and shortens post-exercise rehabilitation time, as well as being shown to enhance the activation of central nervous system functions.
