THE World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said yesterday that they were looking into allegations made by a German broadcaster that Chinese athletes were involved in systematic doping in the 1980s and ’90s.

“The allegations were brought forward by former Chinese physician Xue Yinxian, who is said to have looked after several national teams in China during the decades in question,”  the anti-doping agency said.

Xue, who recently arrived in Germany and is seeking political asylum with her son, told broadcaster ARD that more than 10,000 athletes were affected, some as young as 11, and that anyone who was against doping was considered “a danger to the country. And anyone who endangered the country is now in prison.”