Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Anti-Doping Organization (IADO) stated that Indonesia is currently already free from the risk of sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after having met all requirements for corrective action.
"Currently, there is no longer any risk of sanctions from WADA against Indonesia because we have fulfilled the corrective action requirements," IADO Chair Gatot S. Dewa Broto stated when contacted telephonically here on Tuesday.
Broto explained that Indonesia received sanctions from WADA in early 2017 and early 2022, which resulted in athletes winning international championships not being able to fly Indonesia's national flag. Apart from that, Indonesia could not host international tournaments.
Broto stated that based on WADA rules, countries that receive sanctions repeatedly in a relatively short interval of time must be audited completely. In Indonesia, WADA's complete audit was conducted in March 2023.
He noted that based on the audit, several aspects need to be improved as corrective action, such as increasing the number of officers to take anti-doping test samples on account of Indonesia's large area. He stressed that sampling should also be carried out completely.
To this end, Broto emphasized that for the first three months of 2024, sampling activities should be conducted despite IADO's budget from the Ministry of Youth and Sports not being disbursed.
Moreover, IADO is obliged to realize an agreement on complying with WADA's rules with all sports federations. He explained that in April 2023, some 11 sports federations, the National Sports Committee (KONI), the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), and the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia (NPC Indonesia) signed the agreement.
He explained that as a result of various efforts, the agreement was inked for some 65 sports by mid-December of 2023. Despite agreements being signed for several sports, Broto believes it is still insufficient, as the score had not reached 95 percent as of February 2024 or had yet to reach 100 percent.
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"Thus, Indonesia almost got sanctioned again because even though it has reached 95 percent, it has not been able (to reach 100 percent). Nevertheless, everything has been resolved with a guarantee from the government," he stated.
He further noted that as the requirements had been fulfilled, Indonesia was already free of sanctions, so it could fly its national flag if it won at international championships, including at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Indonesia free from WADA sanction risks
File - Chair of the Indonesian Anti-Doping Organization (IADO) Gatot S. Dewa Broto delivers a press statement on Indonesia's fight against doping at the office of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Jakarta on Thursday (December 1, 2022). ANTARA/Muhammad Ramdan/am.
