South Korean sports officials have effectively denied swimming star Park Tae-hwan’s bid to compete in this year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The Korean Sport Olympic Committee(KSOC)'s fair sports commission on Wednesday decided to maintain its rule blocking players from competing on national teams for three years after serving penalties related to doping.

The commission, whose predecessor was the KSOC’s awards and penalties commission, also pledged to deny petitions to amend the rule.

Park tested positive for testosterone in a drug test conducted just before the Asian Games in September 2014. He received an 18-month ban from the International Swimming Federation(FINA), the global governing body of swimming.