COLOMBO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka was to introduce a new institute to fight against using drugs in sports, the Sports Ministry said Wednesday.

"Rigorous actions is to be taken against the sportsmen who use drugs and the trainers who lead them to use drugs," said Harsha B. Abeykoon, media secretary of the Sports Ministry.

He told Xinhua that a bill has been drafted to establish National Institute of Prevention of Drugs as doping has become a threat to the health development of sports.

In October, Sports Minister Mahindananda Althugamage sacked the country's entire sports medical unit over allegations that the staff were linked to banned steroids used by cricketers.

The minister's order came after positive tests for Sri Lankan cricketers, national rugby players and boxers.

Cricketer Upul Tharanga was given a three-month ban earlier this year after testing positive for a banned substance while three Sri Lankan national rugby players admitted taking banned steroids.

Boxer Manju Wanniarachchi was stripped of his 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance.

Related Story

• China's Sheng Lihao wins 2nd Paris Olympic gold with men's 10m air rifle victory(08-29 19:31)
• Olympics | Day 13: Chinese diver defends Olympic title, weightlifting debutant claims gold(08-09 16:50)
• Olympics | Chinese weightlifters Hou, Li retain gold at Paris 2024(08-08 14:26)
• Olympics | Day 12: Chinese weightlifters retain Olympic golds, artistic swimming team make history(08-08 14:23)
• Olympics | Chinese diver Quan defends women's 10m platform title at Paris Games(08-07 22:37)