Susantika may be banned for two years

COLOMBO, Jan 26: Sri Lanka's top sprinter, Susantika Jayasinghe who is training in the United States, is likely to face a two-year ban for drug abuse, but could still compete at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, a state-run newspaper reported Tuesday, reports AP.

The Daily News said Sri Lanka's Amateur Athletics Association has been informed by the International Amateur Athletic Federation it was recommending to its International Arbitration Panel that Jayasinghe be banned for two years from the date she tested positive for a prohibited substance.

An official at the AAA reached by The Associated Press confirmed the Daily News report, but declined to give details. AAA's chief was out of the country.

The panel, scheduled to meet soon, would make a final decision, the reports said.