The Hindu : Sport : ‘Zero tolerance towards doping’

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‘Zero tolerance towards doping’

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Union Sports Minister, M. S. Gill, said on Thursday that the Government would be having a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards doping in sports.

Towards achieving this objective, his top priority would be to have a dope-testing laboratory that would be “as good as the best in the world” and would have “scientists of high quality.”

“We have to have total credibility in sports,” Mr. Gill told The Hindu while explaining the steps he had initiated in the anti-doping campaign. He said that the doping violation cases coming up “every now and then” in a sport like weightlifting were projecting a bad image.

The second priority in the fight against doping, Mr. Gill said, would be the establishment of the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) that would have suitably qualified personnel manning it.

Credibility

The minister was keen to ensure that any step taken in the anti-doping programme should have credibility. In order to achieve that, he has already taken steps to reconstitute the NADA Governing Board by nominating “technically qualified” persons to the panel.

Mr. Gill said that he might not be able to straightaway amend the articles of association of NADA in order to bring in a totally “independent” structure, but from a long-term perspective he was willing to consider the point.

Though he did not reveal the names included in the revamped panel, it is expected to contain persons from the medical and scientific community and agencies connected with health and drugs.

The panel, announced last May, so far includes, among others, five men from the Indian Olympic Association or National Federations and four from the Government with two sportspersons and a lawyer being the “independent” candidates (one of the sportspersons, weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, is unlikely to be retained in the panel when it is reconstituted).

Independent structure

The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) advocates a more independent structure for the National Anti Doping Organisations (NADOs).

Formed in November 2005, it was only recently that NADA began taking some shape, but for it to become effective there is still a long way ahead since it will have to get the National Federations adopt its supremacy in anti-doping matters as well as agree to leave the results management process to NADA.

Not just that, the federations will also be required to have a common ‘National disciplinary panel,’ set up as an independent body, and a ‘National appeal panel’ to hear appeals from sanctioned athletes.

To have some idea about what task lies ahead of the NADA, one has to take note of the IOA not having a single clause in its constitution dealing with doping despite WADA rules expressly requiring it to have such rules. The IOA has been expected to bring in amendments to incorporate such rules since 2004, but it has not done that so far.

In November this year, WADA will publish a ‘compliance’ list of its signatories. From January next year, ‘Code compliance’ by NOCs will become a must in case they are bidding for the Olympics.

Asked about the possibility of sending samples abroad for testing in accredited laboratories, as is required by WADA, till such time the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL, formerly Dope Control Centre) gained accreditation from WADA, Mr. Gill said that he would be willing to take up the suggestion in due course.

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