Friday, August 23, 2019

Months ahead of Tokyo Olympics, WADA suspends India's dope testing lab


The NDTL has been instructed to stop all testing procedures with immediate effect and all the samples need to be safely moved to an accredited lab.


Business Standard : The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has suspended the accreditation of the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) for six months in what could be a massive blow to anti-doping movement in the country with less than a year left for Tokyo Olympics.

It is understood that National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) can still carry on with sample collection (blood and urine) but will have to get it tested by a different WADA accredited laboratory outside India during the suspension period of NDTL.

"This suspension has been imposed due to non-conformities with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) as identified during a WADA site visit," WADA stated in a media release on its website.

The WADA also stated that it's Laboratory Expert Group (LabEG) initiated a disciplinary proceedings with regards to status of WADA accredited laboratories.

"In May 2019, disciplinary proceedings were initiated by WADA's Laboratory Expert Group (LabEG) and subsequently carried out by an independent Disciplinary Committee, which was mandated to make a recommendation to the Chair of the WADA Executive Committee regarding the status of the laboratory's accreditation. This process is now complete," WADA informed.

The NDTL has been instructed to stop all testing procedures with immediate effect and all the samples need to be safely moved to an accredited lab.

"The suspension, which took effect on 20 August 2019, prohibits the NDTL from carrying out any anti-doping activities, including all analyses of urine and blood samples.
"During the period of suspension, samples that have not yet been analyzed by the NDTL; samples currently undergoing a confirmation procedure; and any samples for which an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) has been reported, must be securely transported to another WADA-accredited laboratory. This is in order to ensure continued high-quality sample analysis, which also helps preserve athletes' confidence in this process and the wider anti-doping system," it stated.

The suspension came into effect from August 20 but NDTL can appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne in the next 21 days.




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