Two more powerlifters have been expelled from the Beijing Paralympics and banned for two years after failing doping tests, the International Paralympic Committee said on Thursday.

Facourou Sissoko of Mali tested positive for boldenone metabolite, a steriod, on September 6, the day of the opening ceremony, and Liudmyla Osmanova of Ukraine returned an adverse analytical finding of 19-Norandrosterone, also a steriod, in a test conducted on August 29, the IPC said in a statement.

So far, four Paralympic athletes have been caught using banned substances. Pakistani powerlifter Naveed Ahmed Butt had been kicked out after testing positive for methandienone metabolites, while German wheelchair basketball player Ahmet Coskun had been sent home for using finasteride.

The German National Paralympic Committee said that although finasteride is a non-performance enhancement medication, it can be used to cover up drugs that do.

A total of 461 tests, both in and out of competition, have been carried out at the Sept. 6-17 Games.

At the Athens Paralympics in 2004, 680 doping tests were conducted, and 10 violations were caught.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2008)