AKIPRESS.COM - The International Weightlifting Federation will ban Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus from competing for one year after the Rio Olympics finish because of doping, its chief told AFPin an interview.

IWF president Tamas Ajan said the governing body would announce the bans at the end of September or beginning of October, adding that he expected to punish several other nations as well.

"After the Games we will suspend these countries. I give a guarantee about this... (It) will be Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus," Ajan told AFP at the Rio Games.

The weightlifting body adopted a resolution in June that said any country who returns three or more positive drugs tests from the reanalysis of samples from the last two Olympics would be suspended for a year.

"The reanalysing is not finished. I am awaiting more information but I expect there will be some more countries that we will suspend," said the 77-year-old Ajan.

"We wish weightlifting to be a clean sport and there's only one way. We have to ban all the countries which violate our rules. "I think at end of September, October we will announce which countries will be suspended," Ajan added, saying it would be a "very painful decision" for him.

Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova and Turkey are the countries most at threat of being suspended, according to public disclosures showing failed tests posted on the IWF website.