KUALA LUMPUR: Twelve years after his failed doping test, Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei said online taunts questioning his integrity still cause him pain.
The former world No. 1 spoke about the lasting emotional toll of the episode during his Beyond Greatness live talk at Idea Live Arena in Petaling Jaya on Saturday.
Chong Wei said he continues to encounter comments branding him a drug cheat, despite a Badminton World Federation (BWF) panel concluding that he had no intention to cheat.
"You ask me whether it hurts? It is a pain I cannot put into words. That is why I want to speak about it now, in 2026, to make clear that I am not a drug cheat," he said.
Chong Wei tested positive for dexamethasone after a sample was taken at the World Championships in Copenhagen on Aug 30, 2014.
In April 2015, the BWF imposed an eight-month backdated suspension, allowing him to return to competition on May 1 that year.
The panel ruled that he had been negligent, though it described the degree of negligence as "rather light".
His runner-up finish at the 2014 World Championships was expunged.
Recalling the night he learnt of the doping result, Chong Wei said he received a call from BA of Malaysia officials directing him to return immediately.
The news left him so shaken that after telling his wife, Datin Seri Wong Mew Choo, that he was heading home, he drove off in the wrong direction without realising it.
Chong Wei also questioned the handling of medical treatment he received before the tournament, saying a doctor had not fully disclosed the use of dexamethasone.
However, the published BWF ruling determined that contaminated cordyceps capsule shells were the most likely source of the substance.
The panel accepted that explanation on the balance of probabilities and found he had not sought to enhance his performance.
Despite the uncertainty over his career, Chong Wei said he maintained strict daily training without knowing how long his ban would last or whether he would ever compete again.
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