The court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected an appeal to overturn a two-year doping ban lodged by Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva, who won a gold at the Rio Games in 2016 but who tested positive for a banned substance in a regional competition in 2019.

Silva retains her Olympic title but is now unable to defend it at the Tokyo Games in 2021, a major blow for the now 28-year-old who hails from the modest City of God neighbourhood of Rio where she is revered.

Silva underwent an anti-doping control during the 2019 Panamerican Games in Lima, Peru, after competing in, and winning, the final bout in the -57kg category and this test revealed the presence of a banned substance connected to the treatment of asthma.

CAS said on Monday Silva had had not discharged the burden which lies upon her to establish by a balance of probability the “route of ingestion” for the banned substance.