BEIJING (AP) -The International Weightlifting Federation has criticized the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency for suggesting that weightlifting could be dropped from future Olympics if it doesn't crack down on doping.

In a statement Wednesday, the IWF called John Fahey's comments in media interviews at the start of the Beijing Olympics "extremely regrettable,'' saying they had brought the sport into "disrepute.''

Fahey told The Associated Press on Sunday that weightlifting and cycling, which both have a long history of doping scandals, risked being excluded from the Olympic program "if the cheating is continued.''

The entire 11-member Bulgarian weightlifting team was barred from the Beijing Games after testing positive for steroids, and 11 Greek lifters also were excluded after failing pre-games tests. Several lifters were also caught during the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

IWF President Tamas Ajan, a member of WADA's board, warned Fahey against any "hasty proposals'' and said choosing sports for the Olympic program was "outside the scope of his competence.''

Ajan said the IWF has a zero tolerance on doping and noted that the Greek and Bulgarian cheats were caught in tests carried out by the federation.

"It is worth pointing out that alone in 2008, between Jan 1. July 15, the IWF carried out more than 1,200 in and out-of-competition tests in 104 countries around the world,'' Ajan said. "Therefore, we reject such statements bringing our sport into disrepute.''