The fight against doping may take center stage at this summer's Olympic rowing competition in Beijing after eight Russian rowers received two-year bans recently for drug violations.

Altogether nine Russian athletes were found guilty of doping violations in a 12-month period, with eight getting the bans. Russia's rowing authorities were forced to enact a reshuffle to avoid being axed from the sport at the upcoming Olympics.

Of the offending athletes, five were found to have intravenously injected performance-enhancing drugs at a World Cup regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland last July. Three others were found guilty of breaking other doping regulations at last year's World Championships in Munich.

The incident led to a re-election of the Russian Rowing Federation in February, after the International Rowing Federation (FISA) warned that Russia could be banned from all rowing competitions for four years unless it elected a new national rowing body.

"We do not wish to punish those who are innocent," said Matt Smith, FISA's executive director. "But we have always been very strong on doping."

China stepped up its anti-doping efforts ahead of the Beijing Games by opening a world-class anti-doping agency last November. The number of doping tests at the Beijing Games will be 4,500, up from 3,700 at the 2004 Athens Games.

Meanwhile, rowing powers including Germany, Romania, the United States and Great Britain, along with rising stars from Australia, New Zealand, and home team China, have a good shot of claiming gold on the 2-km course at Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park this August.

FISA is still deciding whether to allow the Russian men's eight a chance to defend their gold from Athens after three of the crew were among those receiving the latest bans.