SLOVENIAN ice hockey player Ziga Jeglic, who became the third athlete caught doping at the Pyeongchang Olympics, said today that he tested positive for an asthma drug he took under doctor's orders.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Jeglic tested positive for fenoterol in an in-competition test. Fenoterol is a drug designed to open the airways to the lungs.

"I take the mentioned drug due to asthma under medical advice," Jeglic said in a statement, adding he was tested on Friday. "It has been prescribed to me after testing for respiratory problems in Slovakia in 2017. Unfortunately I have forgot to declare it as [a therapeutic use] exception."

Jeglic was suspended from the games and has been ordered to leave the athletes village within 24 hours.

"I have overlooked the difference between comparable drugs, which are allowed and would enable me to use it for my respiratory problems during the Olympics," he said. "I apologise for my negligence to all the persons involved and I accept the further anti-doping procedures."

Slovenia played Norway in men's ice hockey today and lost 2-1 in overtime, but Jeglic was scratched from the team before the announcement about his positive test.

Japanese short-track speedskater Kei Saito failed a pre-competition test in Pyeongchang and Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, who won a bronze medal, tested positive during the games.