China's high jumper Zhang Guowei suspended for violating team regulations

BEIJING - Chinese high jumper Zhang Guowei has been suspended from all competitions with immediate effect by the country's governing body of the sport as the world silver medalist violated the regulations of the national team.

According to the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), the 27-year-old Zhang attended two commercial events, in late February and early March respectively, without getting permission from the national team.

He has been suspended from all national and international competitions as well as all kinds of commercial events. And the CAA did not give details about the length of his suspension.

"After talking with officials from the CAA, I can feel their care, concerns and expectations ... Please don't worry, I will continue to train hard and give it all out for my dream," said Zhang on social media on Sunday.

Zhang achieved his personal best of 2.38-meter in 2015 when he won the silver medal at the Beijing World Championships. He has been struggling to find his form following a series of injuries as he could only make the season best of 2.21m, nine centimeters away from the entry standard for the 2019 World Championships in Doha.