By Murali Krishnan
Reykjavik, Nov 10 (IANS) India needs to put in place a proper drug-testing programme soon, especially with the Commonwealth Games coming up in 2010, says a top official of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“I would think the government and sports bodies in India would be seriously considering a fully-certified laboratory for dope testing,” David Howman, the director general of WADA, told IANS here.
“I mean the next cricket World Cup will be hosted by India along with other countries in the subcontinent in 2011 and it will be in the fitness of things if specialised testing is available by then,” said Howman, who also met up with officials of various sports bodies in India earlier this month.
Howman was part of ‘Play the Game’, a world meet on sports and society in the Iceland capital where academics and officials in world sport met over five days to discuss corruption, doping, political abuse, changing lifestyles and a number of other challenges to modern sport.
Currently, test samples from various international sporting events held in India are usually sent to WADA-accredited labs in Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok, as there is no WADA-accredited laboratory in India.
Samples collected during the recently concluded World Military Games at Hyderabad and Mumbai were sent to Bangkok. About 4,700 sportspersons from 72 countries participated in the Games and samples were taken from all those who broke records in addition to random samples.
Established in 1999 to coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in all forms at the international level, WADA is at present drafting a revised doping code that is due to be approved next month in Madrid and comes into effect Jan 1, 2009.
“The code, which has been approved by 570 sporting bodies and 191 governments, lays out basic mandatory standards that remain unaltered in the new document,” said Howman.
“There was a two-year penalty for first-time offences which is a normative sanction. We are thinking of upping it to four years,” revealed Howman.
A mechanism will also be introduced threatening consequences for entire teams if two athletes or more test positive, and an international standard for data protection will be proposed.
“Also in a team event, if two players commit an infraction, then we are thinking of sanctioning the whole team. And that means no medal,” he said.
Howman also pointed out that WADA now gathers evidence from a variety of sources as evidenced by the doping admission of five-time Olympic medallist Marion Jones.
“The scandal was exposed through the work of a partner law enforcement agency, not through positive testing. WADA is constantly increasing incentives for athletes to come forward and confess to doping use,” he added.
The new code is the result of a wide system of consultation, Howman said, but it will mean no dilution of its principles of strict liability.
The main changes include greater flexibility in the issue of some sanctions such as those involving non-amphetamine stimulants and a tightening of the rules regarding missed tests. Perceived variations on sanctions for missed tests will also be standardised.
Revisions will also be made to the therapeutic use exemption process, meaning athletes must show a full medical file, not just a doctor’s note, when applying for an exemption. Other changes include a new definition of the word “athlete”, new mandatory education programmes for national bodies, and a compulsory provisional suspension for athletes after an initial positive sample.
Science, Howman pointed out, is not the answer to everything.
“Cheaters don’t stand still. There are now 40 different versions of the blood booster erythropoetin (EPO), for example – which is why WADA is constantly examining new ways of gathering evidence related to the use of such drugs.”