Kazakh weightlifter Sivanbayeva banned for life for doping

MOSCOW (AP) A 23-year-old weightlifter from Kazakhstan has been banned for life after testing positive for steroids at last year's Asian championships.

Faina Sivanbayeva won bronze in the women's 63-kilogram category in September in Thailand. She also won bronze at a competition in Kazakhstan a month later.

The Kazakhstan Weightlifting Federation says the life ban was because it was Sivanbayeva's second offense. She also served a doping ban from 2012-14.

The federation adds that it hopes the ban would ''be a lesson to other athletes.''

Kazakhstan is a major power in weightlifting and won four gold medals at the 2012 Olympics.