The World Anti-Doping Agency announced Thursday that it has reinstated, effective immediately, the accreditation of India’s national dope-testing laboratory, which had been suspended since mid-2019.
The New Delhi-based lab can now resume its anti-doping activities, including urine and blood tests, the Montreal-based agency said in a statement.
A first six-month suspension was imposed on the laboratory in August 2019 due to non-compliance, then extended in February 2020 because WADA experts believed that there were still issues to be resolved.
Covid-19 then impacted WADA’s ability to conduct an on-site assessment of the laboratory, leading to a further extension of the suspension before a remote assessment was completed in September of this year.
“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 international agency is responsible for accrediting anti-doping laboratories, thereby ensuring that they maintain high quality standards.