CHINESE Olympic weightlifting champion Liao Hui said Friday he would appeal a nearly three-year suspension for doping that would prevent him from competing at the London Games.

    Liao appeared on a list of 10 banned weightlifters issued by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and would be suspended until Sept. 30, 2014, Xinhua said.

    The 24-year-old won the gold medal in the 69-kilogram category at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He went on to take gold at the world championships in 2009 and 2010, when he set new world records for the clean and jerk and the total.

    But last year he tested positive for a banned substance called boldebolin and was stripped of his 2010 gold medal and world records, Xinhua said.

    “According to the latest explanation by the World Anti-Doping Agency, boldebolin can be produced by the human body,” he said. “I also found irregularities in the storing, transport and testing of urine samples. In order to prove my innocence, I will take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”(SD-Agencies)