WADA suspends India's National Dope Testing Laboratory for another six months

India’s National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) has been suspended for a second period of up to six months for not conforming to international standards, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has said. The New Delhi-based laboratory had previously been suspended in August following a WADA site visit, prohibiting it from carrying out anti-doping activities, including all analyses of urine and blood samples. “In February 2020, when the six-month suspension period elapsed … some outstanding non-conformities had not been addressed successfully,” WADA said in a statement. WADA’s Laboratory Expert Group “recommended the initiation of further disciplinary proceedings against the laboratory based on the outstanding non-conformities”. WADA said the disciplinary proceedings were carried out by an independent committee that recommended an additional six-month suspension which began on July 17. According to the World Anti-Doping Code, the laboratory has the option to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the WADA decision. If the laboratory satisfies WADA’s Laboratory Expert Group that it has addressed the issues it may apply for reinstatement early but a failure to do so could lead to another similar suspension, WADA added.