China's Olympic weightlifting champion Lyu Xiaojun said he had no motive or reason to use banned substance on Friday, after he had been provisionally suspended following a positive result from his out-of-competition testing in October.

According to a statement from the International Testing Agency (ITA) on Friday, a sample collected  from Lyu during an out-of-competition testing mission on October 30 this year contained an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for peptide hormone erythropoietin (EPO), banned substances under the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Lyu, 38, said in a statement that he was "greatly shocked" upon the notification, and he would cooperate for investigation.

"In my 24 years of weightlifting career, I have competed in numerous major events and have been tested hundreds of times, without any ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violations)," he said.

"I have neither any motive nor any reason to use any prohibited substance or prohibited method in the final phase of my beloved weightlifting career. I will cooperate with related organizations for investigation to find out the real cause of this issue, and to prove my innocence," he added.

"As a senior athlete, I have always strictly abided by the anti-doping policies and regulations of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the WADA and the China Anti-Doping Agency. I believe that the value of sports lies in fair play and I resolutely oppose the use of any prohibited substance or prohibited method and any other kind of cheating, which is also the bottom line I have always set for myself. The use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method is completely against my values and goes against the anti-doping education I have received," he went on to say.

According to the ITA, Lyu has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample.

Lyu was crowned world champion five times and won the London 2012 men's 77kg and Tokyo 2020 men's 81kg golds. He has also been confirmed by the International Weightlifting Federation as the Rio 2016 men's 77kg winner since Nijat Rahimov of Kazakhstan was stripped of the gold due to a doping violation.

Meanwhile, China's weightlifting governing body, the Chinese Weightlifting Association, said that "we have noticed Lyu Xiaojun's statement, and we believe that the International Testing Agency and the IWF will find out the facts and make impartial decisions, cracking down on doping while protecting the legitimate rights of clean athletes."

"The Chinese Weightlifting Association has always pursued the goal of 'Zero Appearance' with 'Zero Tolerance' attitude in the anti-doping endeavor," it added.

It also noted that since 2017, Chinese lifters have undergone more than 5,000 doping control tests for both in-competition and out-of-competition, the highest frequency in the world, without any ADRV.

(With input from Xinhua)