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Yasuhiro Suzuki has apologized for putting
Seiji Komatsu under "unwarranted suspicion" by tampering with
his drink, which caused the latter to fail a drugs test at a
national meet in September.
"Instead of working hard, I committed misconduct as an athlete
and, further, as a member of society," Suzuki said in a
statement released by his lawyer.
Suzuki, who has been handed an eight-year suspension by the
country's anti-doping agency, faces a life ban from the Japan
Canoe Federation (JCF) following the incident.
Komatsu was provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test
but the 25-year-old has been allowed to resume his bid to
qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after Suzuki's confession
during the JCF probe.
"At first I couldn't believe this kind of thing would happen in
Japan," Komatsu said, revealing he had effectively given up on
his Tokyo 2020 dreams.
"Until Mr Suzuki confessed, I was in a bad mental state. I began
to feel hopeless about (competing at) the Tokyo Olympics, that
it was impossible," Komatsu added.
According to the report, the JCF probe found that Suzuki had
made multiple attempts to sabotage several of his team mates,
sometimes by stealing their equipment.
Ishikawa prefecture police are also probing the incident
following a complaint from Komatsu.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John
O'Brien)
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