Aug 14, 2008, 13:43 GMT
Taipei - A Taiwan Olympics baseball player has failed a doping test, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) confirmed Thursday, following the result of a second test sample.
The IBAF notified the Chinese-Taipei delegation at the Beijing Olympics that the B sample of Chang Tai-shan's urine had tested positive.
The federation had on Wednesday suspended Chang, pending the result of the B sample taken during a test in Taipei on July 7.
A key hitter, Chang denied using banned substances, but said medication intended to improve his fertility or pills he took to cure a cold might be to blame.
The IBAF has scheduled a hearing for August 17 to decide on the length of Chang's ban, according to the Chinese-Taipei Olympic Committee.
The IBAF, in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), collected urine samples from the eight baseball teams that qualified for the Beijing Olympics.
On August 12, IBAF announced that the A sample of Chang's urine had tested positive.
If the hearing fails to reverse IBAF's decision, Chang is likely to be banned for three years, and will be the first Taiwan player to have failed a doping test.
Chang's absence will hurt Taiwan's chance of winning a medal in the Olympics baseball competition, which began on Wednesday with Taiwan beating the Netherlands 5-0.
Taiwan faced Japan Thursday evening, and has to take on each of the other six teams before learning whether it will advance to the semi-final.
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