The world number one was in the initial entry list (released on October 17) for the US$350,000 tournament at Hong Kong Coliseum from November 18-23, but when organisers finalised the list over the weekend, his number one seed position was replaced by Chen Long of China, the world number two, while Jan O. Jorgensen of Denmark took the second seeding.
Lee, who celebrated his 32nd birthday last week, has won the men's singles crown three times in Hong Kong since 2005, including an easy straight games victory over Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia last November.
"His absence is a big shock," said Hong Kong team head coach Tim He Yiming. "Lee is always well received in Hong Kong and is a household name, not only because of his skills, but also his pleasant attitude as a gentleman and a player. We know little about the alleged doping case and, hopefully, it can be cleared sooner and not later."
According to the rules, if a player has tested positive for a banned substance in the A sample, he would not be allowed to take part in any tournament until the result of the B sample is also released. In compliance with the World Badminton Federation and the World Anti Doping Agency regulations, the name of the athlete involved will also not be disclosed at this stage.
Reports from Malaysia confirmed that one of its top shuttlers had failed a doping test at the world championships in Copenhagen in August and is waiting for the results of the B sample to be completed either on November 4 or 5. It is also reported the banned substance involved is dexamethasone, which belongs to a class of corticosteroids.
-scmp.com
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