Indonesian Govt Forms Team to Lift Doping Sanctions Soon

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A team has been established to accelerate the lifting of the sanctions against the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI), which were imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali has informed.

The attempt is in response to the absence of the Indonesian flag at the medal ceremony of the 2020 Thomas Cup in Ceres Arena, Aarhus city, Denmark on Sunday afternoon local time, when the national contingent was declared the champion of the two-yearly tournament for the first time in 19 years.

The flag's absence marked the first official enforcement of the sanctions since a warning letter on Indonesia’s non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code was issued earlier this month, Amali noted.

"In a meeting with LADI and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), I had formed a team and given them two tasks," the minister informed at a virtual press conference on Monday.

In addition to accelerating the revocation of the sanctions, the team has been assigned to investigate the initial problem that led to the national doping agency failing to meet the minimum test sample threshold, he said.

The team comprises the general chief of KOI, Raja Sapta Oktohari, the secretary general of KOI, Ferry J Kono, two representatives of LADI, two representatives of national sports organizations, and one representative from the Youth and Sports Ministry, he added.

"Our first step is to have internal coordination between the ministry and LADI soon. We need one month to evaluate and administer the data we received from LADI," Oktohari said.

In addition, the team will do its best to lobby WADA to revoke the punishment quickly, he added.

"Furthermore, the investigation of the imposition of the sanctions will involve more competent parties to avoid the recurrence of the same mistake. However, I believe we can solve it together,” he said.

The team will be assisted by a number of experts, who have been divided into three groups which have been assigned the tasks of acceleration, investigation, and communication, he added.

Read: Indonesian Flag Absent in Thomas Cup, Govt Apologizes for Anti-Doping Fiasco

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