Zeinep Orazkhan

Introduction

Zeinep Orazkhan is a Kazakhstani mixed martial arts competitor who has been banned from the sport for three years after accepting two anti-doping rule violations: a positive test for the metabolic modulator meldonium and the use of a prohibited intravenous infusion method. The sanction was reported by the International Testing Agency (ITA), which manages anti-doping for the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA), in an announcement published on November 10, 2026. The three-year period of ineligibility runs from October 20, 2026 until October 19, 2029, and all of her competitive results from the date her positive sample was collected — December 14, 2024 — onward have been disqualified, including her results at the 2024 GAMMA World Championships.

Background Information

Orazkhan provided a sample on December 14, 2024 during an in-competition doping control conducted at the 2024 GAMMA World Championships in Tangerang, Indonesia. That sample returned a positive finding for meldonium, a substance prohibited at all times under the 2024-2026 WADA Prohibited List as an S.4.4.3 metabolic modulator and classified as a non-specified substance. According to the ITA’s account, meldonium may enhance sports performance by improving endurance and shortening recovery times. The ITA statement contains no details of her fight record, weight class, or standing within Kazakhstani martial arts, and it reports no prior sanctions.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Accepted a three-year doping ban. The ITA, on behalf of GAMMA, reported that Zeinep Orazkhan accepted a three-year sanction for a meldonium positive and for using an infusion of more than 100 mL per 12-hour period, a prohibited method, with results disqualified from December 14, 2024 onward.

When Orazkhan was notified of the case, she was provisionally suspended with immediate effect. The ITA reports, however, that she did not respect the conditions of that provisional suspension, and that as a consequence she was not given any credit for the provisional suspension she had served — meaning her ineligibility was measured only from the date the sanction agreement took effect. Beyond the meldonium finding, she further admitted having used an infusion of more than a total of 100 mL per 12-hour period, which is treated as a prohibited method under clause M.2.2 of the 2024-2026 WADA Prohibited List.

The case was resolved through an agreement on consequences, a mechanism under which an athlete agrees with the sanctions proposed by the ITA rather than proceeding to a hearing. Because of her early admission of the violations, Orazkhan was entitled to a one-year reduction of the applicable period of ineligibility under article 10.8.1 of the GAMMA anti-doping rules, which is how the sanction settled at three years. The ITA noted that under the reduction framework, no further reduction in the period of ineligibility is allowed once the article 10.8.1 credit has been applied.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The consequences were announced as part of the decision itself. Her individual results at the 2024 GAMMA World Championships are disqualified, with forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes from that event, and every individual competitive result obtained from the date of sample collection — December 14, 2024 — onward is also disqualified. The ITA statement reported no comment from Orazkhan, no statement from GAMMA beyond the case report itself, and no reaction from the Kazakhstani federation or from other athletes. The ITA said it would not comment further on the case.

Current Status

As of the ITA announcement of November 10, 2026, Orazkhan is serving a three-year period of ineligibility that runs from October 20, 2026 until October 19, 2029. Because she received no credit for time served under her provisional suspension, the clock began only at the October 2026 sanction date despite her positive sample dating back to December 2024. The decision may be challenged before the appeals division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the parties with a right of appeal under article 13.2.3 of the GAMMA anti-doping rules; the ITA statement recorded no filed appeal.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The ban removes Orazkhan from GAMMA-sanctioned competition until late October 2029, and the disqualification sweep erases her results from the 2024 World Championships and everything that followed her December 2024 sample. For an active competitor in a sport whose international federation relies on the ITA for results management, the agreement on consequences functions as a career interruption measured in years rather than months. The ITA statement documented no pathway back other than the expiry of the sanction itself, and no statement from the athlete accompanied the announcement.

Sources

• “The ITA reports that athlete Zeinep Orazkhan has accepted a 3-year ban for two anti-doping rule violations” source