Technical errors made model Beijing anti-doping lab lose their accreditation temporarily as the news sent a shock wave across China's sports circle and beyond.
Many Chinese sports fans woke up on Friday morning to find Beijing lab's suspension headlined various websites and spread rapidly on social media.
"What happened?" was among the first reaction as they learned that World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended its accreditation of the National Anti-Doping Laboratory in Beijing for a maximum period of four months.
The suspension took effect immediately and stops the lab from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples, WADA said in a statement on its official website.
The Beijing lab, which has passed every test in the past 27 years in a run since its establishment in 1989, said it was a pure technical mishap, failing to spot positive samples in a test in October last year, which led to the ban.
"We reported two false negative results in WADA's technical test last year. WADA will suspend the accreditation of a lab up to six months if it reports two false negative results in tests within a year," lab chief Xu Youxuan explained the reason for the suspension.
"The problem took place because we failed to follow WADA's latest technique requirements and there were oversights in reviewing the analysis," he said.
Xu told Xinhua that the lab staff already conducted a thorough review of the test methods and made improvements.
"Our lab now can meet WADA's latest technique requirements. We will apply for a WADA inspection and try to be reinstate the lab's accreditation as soon as possible," Xu said.
During the suspension, samples will be transported to another WADA-accredited laboratory while Beijing lab can appeal the decison to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days.
WADA said the lab may apply for reinstatement if it can meet the requirements put forth by the Disciplinary Committee.
The incident threw China's anti-doping work under scrutiny again just weeks after Chinese swimming's six positive cases were reported.
WADA said the two incidents were not related.
"The suspension of the Beijing laboratory is not connected with the recent allegations concerning doping in Chinese swimming," WADA spokesman Ben Nichols told Xinhua in an email.
"All 34 WADA-accredited laboratories worldwide face stringent and ongoing quality assessment by WADA. As the Beijing laboratory failed to meet the requirements set by WADA under the International Standard for Laboratories, we decided it was necessary to suspend the laboratory for a period of up to four months."
"It is crucial that the laboratory meets the standards expected, so that athletes and sport at-large can have confidence in the anti-doping system," he said.
