MOSCOW: Russian ice hockey forward Danis Zaripov was on Tuesday named as one of three Kontinental Hockey League players banned for doping.

The league said that the 36-year-old had been banned after traces of a banned stimulant and masking agent were found in samples he provided last season.

The KHL said Zaripov, a three-time world champion who played for Russia at the 2010 Olympics, had been banned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) until May 2019.

Responding to Zaripov’s ban Russian sports minister Pavel Kolobkov told the R-Sport agency: “Anyone who violates (anti-doping regulations) should be punished regardless of their names and titles.”

Canadian defenseman Derek Smith has been banned until September 2018, and Russian defenseman Andrei Konev until November 2017, after stimulants were also detected.—AFP