A Chinese rower has failed a doping test and was kicked out of the National Games, the first such case during the prestigious competition.

Henan province representative Guo Linna tested positive for 19-norandrostenedione, a precursor to steroids, and she faced a four-year ban, according to the official news agency Xinhua.

China was at the heart of several major doping scandals in the 1990s and early years of this century, but its determination to avoid embarrassment at last year's Beijing Olympics led to a clampdown on the use of banned substances.

Officials have vowed to hand down stiff punishments on any drug cheats caught at the 11th National Games, which run October 11-23 in Jinan, Shandong province.

Reuters