The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has approved the reinstatement of the accreditation of the anti-doping laboratory at the National Doping Control Centre in Bangkok in accordance with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL).
The agency announced on its website that the reinstatement allows the Bangkok laboratory to resume all its anti-doping activities, including the analysis of urine and blood samples with immediate effect.
In November 2019, the accreditation of the Bangkok laboratory at Mahidol University was suspended for six months due to non-conformities detected during an on-site assessment of the laboratory.
The suspension was subsequently twice extended as the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the laboratory's ability to complete some of the corrective actions.
In April 2021, Wada conducted a further assessment of the laboratory and, following a review of that assessment, the agency's laboratory expert group this month recommended that the laboratory's accreditation be reinstated on the grounds that it had satisfactorily met the conditions of the November 2019 decision and was therefore once again in compliance with the ISL.
Wada then reviewed this recommendation and subsequently approved the laboratory, widely known in Thailand as 'Lab Mahidol.'
Wada president Witold Banka said: "Wada would like to thank the laboratory for its cooperation throughout this process. The laboratory has now corrected its deficiencies and our laboratory expert group, which is composed of independent experts, will continue to monitor its performance to ensure that it operates to the high standards required by Wada."
Prawit Wongsuwon, president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, is reportedly pleased with the decision after the NOCT and the National Sports Development Fund joined hands in funding for new equipment at the laboratory.