Bahrain Mirror: Four months after being crowned team world champions at the FEI Endurance World Championship held in the United Arab Emirates, the Bahraini team headed by Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa was stripped of the world championship title.

Bahrain has been stripped of the team title following an equine anti-doping case involving a banned substance. The case involved Hera Durances, an Arabian mare ridden by Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Zayed, one of the Bahraini royal team members.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale Tribunal confirmed the disqualification of the athlete and horse combination from the February event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period for the athlete, who has also been fined.

As a result, Team Bahrain's results are void as they no longer have the three finisher required to count for the team ranking. All the remaining teams on the leader board move up by one place, with France taking gold, Portugal slotting into silver and Italy stepping onto the podium with bronze.

"While it is never optimal to have medals redistributed following an event due to medication control and anti-doping related offenses, we view this as confirmation that the systems we have in place are thorough and effective," said FEI Legal Director Mikael Rentsch. 

"We have the tools to follow up and uphold the rules at play in order to guarantee a level playing field," he added.

It is noteworthy mentioning that the authority spent millions on various celebrations on the victory of the royal team led by the king's son in this tournament, and the most prominent celebrations was the one at the National Action Charter building, where singers and musical bands were brought as well as fireworks and drones.

Arabic Version