New Delhi: Drug-tainted distance runner Sunita Rani has been stripped of her gold and bronze medals that she won in the Busan Asian Games, it was officially confirmed on Monday raising the possibility of an international ban on the athlete.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) secretary general Randhir Singh told reporters here that he received a letter from the OCA task force on Sunday confirming that the athlete had tested positive for an anabolic steroid and subsequently her medals have been stripped.

"Both her 'B' samples taken after the 1500m and 5000m races have tested positive for nandrolone," Randhir Singh, also the secretary general of Indian Olympic Association, said.

"As per the rules laid down in the OCA constitution, I would like to inform that OCA has withdrawn the medals won by Sunita and is referring the case to the concerned Asian Federation for further necessary action," he said.

Sunita, who won the gold in 1500m setting a new meet record time of 4 minutes, 6.03 seconds as well as the bronze in 5000m, will now have to return her medals to OCA so that "the same can be forwarded to the other athletes who have replaced Sunita in the medal standings".

India's Madhuri A Singh, who finished fourth in the 1500m, will get the bronze while Tatiana Borisova of Kyrgyzstan, who finished second, will get the gold and the silver will go to Japan's Ichikawa.

PTI