Doha gets WADA-approved anti-doping lab

MUMBAI: World Anti Doping Agency's Executive Committee has approved the accreditation of the laboratory located in Doha, Qatar, for anti-doping analysis, making it the eighth in Asia and 35th world-wide to get this status.

"The Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADQL) - Doping Analysis Laboratory (DAL) - has successfully completed the requirements of WADA's accreditation process, which started in 2014, to become accredited," the anti-doping agency said in a statement from Montreal.

"The objective of this accreditation process is to ensure that the laboratories meet the highest quality standards, as established in the International Standard for Laboratories ( ISL). This includes multiple site visits, participation in WADA's External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS) monitored by the WADA Laboratory Expert Group, and ISO assessment by independent accreditation bodies," the WADA statement said.

"As a result, the Qatari laboratory will become the 35th laboratory in the world currently accredited by WADA."

"We are pleased to welcome the Doha Laboratory to the network of WADA accredited laboratories," said WADA President Sir Craig Reedie.

"Qatar is a key player in the sporting world, and so its laboratory will play an increasingly important role in improving the anti-doping analytical capacities in Qatar and the wider Middle East region," he added.

Apart from the newly accredited lab in Doha, WADA-approved labs in Asia are located in: New Delhi (NADA), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Ankara (Turkey), Bangkok ( Thailand), Beijing (China), Seoul (Korea) and Tokyo ( Japan).