Baldini maintains his innocence

Italian fencer Andrea Baldini maintained his innocence on Thursday, a day after he was suspended for failing a doping test before the Beijing Olympic Games last month.

The gold medal favorite tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide and missed the Games.

On Wednesday he was suspended by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) while an inquiry into his claims a drink he took was 'sabotaged' takes place.

"Right now my biggest wish is to get my name and reputation back as soon as possible," Baldini told Italian news agency Ansa by telephone from Paris.

"I expect to be exonerated and that they apologize to me and tell me they made a mistake."