World No. 1 Italian foil fencer Andrea Baldini was out of the Beijing Olympics for failing a doping test, the Italian fencing federation said Friday.
The federation said Baldini, 23, tested positive for a banned diuretic at the European championships in Kiev last month.
Baldini won the silver medals at the world championships in 2006 and 2007 and is currently ranked No. 1 in the world.
Italian Fencing Federation President Giorgio Scarso said he was "shocked and disappointed" by the case, according to Italian News Agency ANSA.
European champion Andrea Cassara is replacing Baldini in Italy's Olympic team pending the result of a test on Baldini's B sample.
Baldini is the second member of the Italian Olympic team, who was kicked out of the upcoming Beijing Olympics this week.
Earlier, world road race cycling champion Marta Bastianelli, 21, tested positive for a banned substance found in diet products.
(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2008)