The Hindu : Sport : WADA suspends Seoul lab from steroid analysis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 24, 2004

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WADA suspends Seoul lab from steroid analysis

NEW DELHI, APRIL 23. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has suspended the accredited laboratory in Seoul, South Korea, from carrying out steroid analysis for six months. The suspension is effective from April 21.

During this period of suspension, the Seoul laboratory would not be allowed to test for steroids but it could continue to test for other substances, a WADA statement said on Thursday.

The laboratory was already in a `Phase I' status, meaning that it was temporarily suspended from international testing. At the national level, the laboratory was allowed to perform screening procedures, but positive `A' samples were required to be confirmed by another WADA accredited laboratory.

The corresponding `B' sample had also to be analysed in the WADA accredited laboratory that provided confirmation on the `A' sample.

The downgrading of the Seoul lab to Phase I followed the adverse comments about its testing procedures and documentation following the steroid positive reported by it on Indian athlete Sunita Rani by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the intervention of the international athletics body. Sunita was slapped with a positive at the Busan Asian Games in 2002 and then exonerated on appeal to the IAAF and IOC.

WADA and the IOC had previously informed the Seoul lab that it needed to improve its analysis of steroid detection and subsequently carried out additional tests to confirm whether the improvements had taken place. The tests showed that the analyses still did not conform with WADA's international standards for laboratories and the lab was suspended. WADA will re-evaluate the status of the laboratory at the end of the six-month suspension period. — Our Special Correspondent

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