KABUL (Reuters Life!) – Arif Sakhi preened and posed his well-oiled muscles to win the “Mr Afghanistan” crown earlier this year, but behind that perfectly sculpted physique his vital organs were breaking down under the strain of steroid abuse.
Sakhi’s death last month at the age of 26 has shaken Afghanistan’s body building community and shown it is not beyond the reach of the shady billion-dollar business in legal and illegal supplements.
“Unfortunately using illegal supplements has been seen among our young body builders, but we have no resources to stop it,” said Ustaad Bawar Hotak, the head of Afghanistan’s Bodybuilding Federation. “I always tell any sportsmen to use natural products instead of using dangerous supplements that damage their health.”
Hotak said there was evidence that both professional and amateur body builders in Afghanistan were using imported illegal supplements banned by the national federation.