- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Thursday (23) announced that it has reinstated the accreditation of India’s national dope-testing laboratory, which has remained suspended since mid-2019, with immediate effect.
According to a report by AFP, the New Delhi-based lab is now free to resume its anti-doping activities, including urine and blood tests, WADA said in a statement.
A six-month suspension was imposed on the Indian laboratory in August 2019 due to non-compliance and it was then extended in February last year as experts at the Montreal-based agency felt that not all issues had been resolved.
The world body’s ability to conduct on-site assessment of the laboratory was then hit by the coronavirus pandemic and it caused further extension of the suspension till a remote assessment was done in September.
“WADA is pleased to confirm that the New Delhi Laboratory’s accreditation has been reinstated after what has been an extended process due to complications related to Covid-19,” WADA president Witold Banka said in a statement.
The WADA is responsible for accrediting anti-doping laboratories to ensure that they maintain high standards.
