KEY POINTS:
The drug that got New Zealand tennis player Mark Neilsen banned for two years is being removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada) banned list.
Neilsen, 30, tested positive in 2006 for finasteride, an ingredient in a popular hair-restoration pill that also was believed to be capable of masking steroid usage. It was prohibited in 2005.
Neilsen, who said he had used a prescription hair loss product that contained finasteride for some time, was banned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for two years.
He did not appeal against the decision because of the prohibitive costs.
He returned to represent New Zealand at an Asia Pacific Davis Cup round against Kuwait in April this year after his ban ended.
Wada said today finasteride is being removed from its banned list on January 1 after further study showed athletes gain no tangible advantage from the drug.
" For me, it's come too late," Neilsen said.
" They made a big deal about it when I tested positive for it.
"But they always told me they could see straight through it and they could see I wasn't taking anything.
"I guess they decided they made a mistake and took it off because it's a drug that has no effect on an athlete's performance or helps in cheating in anyway."
Since the ban expired, Neilsen who now describes himself as "semi-retired", has been playing in the German club league and in Japan as well as a handful of international tournaments.
"It was disappointing when I was banned. It wasn't the best thing for me and you get upset for a while, but life goes on," Neilsen added.
Among those affected by the ban on finasteride were American skeleton racer Zach Lund who was banned for a year.
"When it happened, I said they would make this legal in a year or two, because that's what Wada does," Lund told the Associated Press.
"They put stuff on the banned list without any scientific proof saying why. They're not held accountable. It's not like I'm getting a `Sorry we took the Olympics away from you. Sorry we almost ruined your career'."
Wada made the decision to remove finasteride and other alpha-reductase inhibitors late last month, calling the review "an important responsibility ... in the harmonisation of the global fight against doping in sport".
"These substances have been rendered ineffective as masking agents of steroids," Wada said in a statement announcing the change.
Others who have tested positive for the drug in recent years include Brazilian soccer star Romario, NHL goalie Jose Theodore, French runners Nordine Gezzar and Latifa Essarokh, Italian golfer Alessandro Pissilli, Monaco Olympic bobsledder Sebastien Gattuso, and Argentine tennis player Mariano Hood.
German wheelchair basketball player Ahmet Coskun was banned from the Paralympics last month after testing positive, and Israeli sailor Udi Gal tested positive this summer, but was allowed to enter the Beijing Games nonetheless.
Lund, who no longer uses the hair-restoration product and shaves his head, said he was told of the change in Wada policy last week.
"I was sitting on my couch when I got the call," Lund said, "and I started laughing so hard that I cried."
- NZPA
