Russian ice hockey player Maxim Kondratyev has been banned for testing positive for the stimulant ephedrine, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) said on Monday.

Both Kondratyev's A and B samples were positive, but the RIHF did not say if any charges would be brought against the Russian Superleague club Lada Togliatti, where Kondratyev played.

Kondratyev, 22, who played for Russia at last year's world championships in the Czech Republic, became the fourth hockey player in Russia to fail a drug test in the last three years.

Last year, AK Bars Kazan forward Sergei Zinovyev tested positive for marijuana on the eve of the world championships and was dropped from the national team.

Two years before, Russian internationals Alexei Chupin and Eduard Kudermetov, also of AK Bars Kazan, were suspended for the Superleague final against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl after testing positive for a stimulant.

Source: Xinhua