Paris Olympics boxing champion Lazizbek Mullajonov has been temporarily suspended from competitions due to doping. Similar incidents have occurred frequently in Uzbek sports. For instance, freestyle wrestler Artur Taymazov was stripped of two gold medals, and judoka Abdulla Tangriev was banned from competing at the 2012 London Olympics. Former Uzbekistan national football team goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov also faced an eight-month ban from official matches.
Mullajonov was suspended following the results of a doping test. It was reported that his sample, taken on 11 June 2025, tested positive for methasterone.
Methasterone is a prohibited synthetic steroid that promotes rapid muscle growth and enhances strength and endurance. It is banned both in and out of competition. The athlete has been notified and retains the right to request the analysis of his B sample.
The Uzbekistan Boxing Federation has suggested that some prohibited substances might have been present in medications prescribed to the athlete by a doctor.
Mullajonov, 26, won the gold medal in the 92 kg category at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He also claimed bronze at the 2023 World Championships.
In recent years, more world-class athletes have faced suspensions for either doping or providing inaccurate information to anti-doping agencies. Below is a list of notable Uzbek athletes disqualified from elite sport for similar reasons.
Artur Taymazov
Representing Uzbekistan in freestyle wrestling, Taymazov competed in four Olympic Games, winning three gold medals and one silver. However, he faced serious doping-related issues. His gold medals from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics were stripped after retesting of his samples revealed the banned substance turinabol.
An ethnic Ossetian who represented Uzbekistan in numerous international events, Taymazov retired in 2015. He is currently a member of the Russian State Duma.
Abdulla Tangriev
A silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a prominent judoka and kurash wrestler, Tangriev was barred from competing at the 2012 London Olympics after traces of narcotics were found in his blood. He was banned for two years.
Tangriev later returned to top-level sport and won gold at an international tournament in Russia in 2014.
