Ratchanok cleared for Rio Olympics

World No.4 Ratchanok 'Nong May' Intanon is fired up and ready to compete, as the WBF clears her of doping allegations. (AP photo)

Badminton star Ratchanok "Nong May" Intanon has been cleared of doping allegations, and can compete for Thailand when the team enters Olympic Stadium in Brazil in 18 days.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) cleared the world No.4 during a weekend meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"No violation of the regulations was committed", the BWF announced in a statement posted to its website. (See below)

Thailand breathed a collective sigh of relief at mid-morning Monday when word came that the nation's major hope for Olympics gold had been cleared.

Ratchanok broke down and cried at a press briefing at a Bangkok hotel. She said she will resume training on Tuesday for the Games

"It is my dream to compete at the Olympic. I thank all the team that helped me to go."

Earlier report: D-Day for Nong May

She told the media briefing that the BWF had forced her to stop training after it began an investigation into reports of her doping.

"I was always confident of my innocence. I didn't do anything wrong."

Thai Olympic badminton hopeful Ratchanok Intanon cries (C) during a press conference regarding recent doping allegations in Bangkok on July 18, 2016. Thai Badminton star Ratchanok Intanon broke down in tears and spoke of her relief Monday after authorities cleared her of doping, ending a brief scare that many had feared would scupper her Olympic dreams. (AFP photo)

Khunying Pattama Leeswadtrakul, the badminton team manager, said the BWF held its investigation on Saturday, and told Thai authorities they would announce the result on Sunday. In the event, she got the call "very late at night" on Sunday, Khunying Pattama said.

Khunying Pattama said the BWF concluded that the "substance in question was part of ongoing medical treatment".

The badminton team of seven players plus coaches and others are scheduled to leave Bangkok for Rio de Janeiro on Aug 1.

Ratchanok and the Thai team were informed on Sunday, July 10, that there was a problem with a drug test taken during the Uber Cup championship last month in China.

Authorities have been cagey and Ratchanok herself refused to discuss the problem. Unconfirmed reports emerged that she had received a steroidal shot from a doctor while getting treatment for a knee injury earlier this year, and that the test showed the steroid use.

The BWF, however, reported that the problem originated with a different drug.

The BWF said the China test revealed the presence of triamcinolone acetonide, a substance that is both banned and legal depending how it is received.

Triamcinolone acetonide is a synthetic form of cortisone, used to treat skin problems and discomforts. It is typically injected, applied as a cream or, if it is a facial problem, inhaled.

The drug is well known as a banned substance for competitive athletes in the 2014 Prohibited List published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) when injected in certain manners - but not in others.

The BWF ruling was that Ratchanok received the drug in a legal manner.

The statement made no reference to steroids.

Here is the full text of the BWF statement issued Monday morning:

Ratchanok Intanon cleared of anti-doping violation (sic)

A BWF Doping Hearing Panel has cleared Ratchanok Intanon of any anti-doping rule violation and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has lifted her provisional suspension, imposed four days ago - allowing her to participate in competitions with immediate effect.

This decision was made after an expedited hearing on 16 July 2016 to determine whether the Thai player had committed an anti-doping rule violation following an Adverse Analytical Finding of a urine sample which [Ratchanok] gave on 15 May at the TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals in Kunshan, China.

The Adverse Analytical Finding was due to the presence of Triamcinolone Acetonide in Intanon's sample. Triamcinolone Acetonide is a Class S9 Glucocorticoid and is a Specified Substance prohibited in-competition under the 2016 WADA Prohibited Substance List when administered orally, intravenously, intramuscularly or rectally.

During the hearing, conducted by video conference, the athlete's medical background and records of treatment were submitted to the panel. This evidence, together with testimony from an expert witness, established to the satisfaction of the panel that the substance administered on 13 May 2016, before the competition, was part of ongoing medical treatment of the athlete and that the route of administration of the substance was intra-tendinous.

The Panel concluded that because the route of administration of the substance in the medical treatment process was intra-tendinous - an authorised administration route - no violation of the regulations was committed.

[Ratchanok] and the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) were notified on Sunday 10 July of the Adverse Analytical Finding and she was provisionally suspended on 13 July, under Article 7.9.3 of the BWF Anti-Doping Regulations, at which point an expedited hearing process was started.

The verbose version of the above statement is available as a PDF file at this link to the BWF's website.