Months ahead of 2020 Olympics, WADA suspends India's dope testing laboratory

Agencies
August 23, 2019

New Delhi, Aug 23: The World Anti-Doping Agency or 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 the Tokyo Olympics.

It is understood that National Anti-Doping Agency or 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 World Anti-Doping Agency 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 National Dope Testing Laboratory 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 National Dope Testing Laboratory 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 analysed 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 National Dope Testing Laboratory can appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne in the next 21 days.

"Pursuant to Article 13.7 of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA), the laboratory may appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of receipt of notice."

The World Anti-Doping Agency has instructed National Dope Testing Laboratory to address all the non-conformities that LabEG identified during their site visit.

"If the laboratory satisfies the LabEG in meeting these requirements, it may apply for reinstatement prior to the expiry of the six-month suspension period. Should the laboratory not address the non-conformities by the end of the six-month suspension period, WADA may extend the suspension of the laboratory''s accreditation for up to an additional six months," it further stated with a note of caution.

Sports lawyer Parth Goswami, who specialises in anti-doping answered a few frequently asked questions that cropped up due to this unforeseen circumstances.

"NADA can carry out tests but will have to take the samples to another WADA accredited lab outside India may be in Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Qatar or China," Mr Goswami, who has been a critic of NDTL's efficiency, told news agency Press Trust of India.

It will nevertheless be a tricky situation for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), feels Mr Goswami. Recently the ministry forced BCCI to come under NADA umbrella after a dogged resistance for a decade.

For BCCI also, it's a tricky situation as their earlier collection agency (International Dope Tests and Management (IDTM)) also used to submit the samples to National Dope Testing Laboratory for testing as its the WADA accredited lab in India.

"This is a tricky situation now for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and NADA. It should ideally go to a lab in Asia. It will be cost effective," said Mr Goswami, as budget needs to be taken into account during an Olympic year when NADA is expected to carry out close to 5,000 tests.

"NADA will have to bear the cost. This will be a big burden considering the number of tests NADA conducts," he said.

Mr Goswami is interested in knowing whether National Dope Testing Laboratory will accept the verdict or appeal in Lausanne court.

"National Dope Testing Laboratory can appeal this decision to CAS. Let's see if they do it. Or are they willing to accept their fault," he said.

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News Network
April 25,2020

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

Mumbai, Mar 10: The addition of two new members, including the chairman, in the national selection committee, has not changed the panel's stance on M S Dhoni, who will "have to perform" in the upcoming IPL to be considered for T20 World Cup selection, a top BCCI official told PTI.

The Sunil Joshi-led selection panel met for the first time in Ahmedabad on Sunday to pick a rather "straightforward" squad for the three ODIs against South Africa beginning in Dharamsala on March 12.

Fit-again Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan made their way back into the side.

Joshi's predecessor MSK Prasad had made it clear that the team has moved on from Dhoni and he has to first play to be considered for selection.

Dhoni, who has not played since the World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand in July, will be making his highly-awaited comeback in the IPL beginning March 29.

"It was a pretty straightforward selection meeting and since Dhoni was obviously not in the reckoning this time (for South Africa series), there was no formal talk about his future," a BCCI source told PTI.

"He will be back in the reckoning only if he has a good IPL. And why only him, there are so many senior and young players who will play in the IPL. If they do well, they are ought to be considered too. So, you could see some surprise inclusions," he said.

The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in October-November and the games India play after the IPL leading up to the mega event will also be a factor in the final squad selection.

"But the performance in the IPL could be the clincher," the source added.

Head coach Ravi Shastri too has hinted that Dhoni could be back after a good IPL but his future remains a subject of intense speculation as he has not played a game in more than seven months.

With his heir apparent Rishabh Pant not setting the world on fire and K L Rahul being groomed into a full-time wicketkeeper-batsman, Dhoni's comeback cannot be ruled out.

His countless fans will finally get to see him in action when he leads Chennai Super Kings against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL opener at Wankhede Stadium on March 29.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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