Ratchanok Intanon: Former world champion cleared of doping

Ratchanok Intanon is clear to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Thailand's former world champion Ratchanok Intanon has been cleared of doping after it was found she ate contaminated meat.

The 24-year-old ex-world number one was charged with an anti-doping rule violation in May.

But she proved she had eaten meat contaminated with clenbuterol - a drug that decreases body fat and increases muscle mass.

The Badminton World Federation said she bore "no fault or negligence".

"Thus no period of ineligibility has been imposed on her," the governing body said in a statement.

Clenbuterol was found in at least eight other samples taken from the barbecue restaurant where Intanon had eaten.

Currently ranked five in the world, Intanon won bronze at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, in August.

She was cleared to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics after receiving a provisional ban following a positive test for a corticosteroid.

Her team blamed it on an injection for a knee injury, and the BWF found no violation had been committed.