Nadir Bin Hendi

Nadir Bin Hendi London - Arabstoday   Reigning powerboating world champion Nadir Bin Hendi has been found guilty of doping by Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the world governing body for powerboating, according to a statement put on their website today. The Victory 3 throttleman is now disqualified from all the results he obtained at the UIM Class 1 World Championship event in Cernobbio, Italy, in October last year, and is now ineligible to participate in any form of powerboat racing for a period of two years, ending on 20th November, 2013. An investigation into Bin Hendi’s alleged use of a banned subtsance began after the Italy event, resulting in his suspension from the final UIM Class 1 Grand Prix of the year, which took place at the Dubai International Marine Club. At the time, Mr Bin Hendi requested additional time to respond to the allegations, which Bin Hendi claimed UIM at first granted but then overruled, declaring the sanction before a hearing had taken place. The Victory Team then released a statement that offered their support for Bin Hendi: “Despite the illegal press release issued by the UIM, Bin Hendi insists that he has never taken any banned substances.” However, in an exclusive interview with Sport360°, UIM President Dr Raffaele Chiulli disclosed that both of Bin Hendi’s A and B samples had tested positive. The UIM said today that the ban is in full accordance with current doping regulations, and that the integrity of the sport is more important than any individual, whatever their stature. A spokesperson for Bin Hendi said that he will be issuing a statement about this development tomorrow. He has, though, already retained the services of American lawyer Howard Jacobs, a specialist in defending atheletes from doping charges, whose office told Sport360° that they are working on lodging an appeal in line wth UIM procedures.