The Office of the Council of State (OCS) has vowed to push for amendments to the anti-doping law after Thailand was punished by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Thailand was declared non-compliant by Wada last week after failing to fully implement the 2021 anti-doping code.
Among the consequences, Thailand “may not be awarded the right to host regional, continental or world championships” as long as the suspension lasts, Wada said.
Its athletes will be allowed to compete in regional, continental and world championships but their national flags will not be flown other than at the Olympics.
The OCS said in a statement yesterday that the cabinet and the agency were informed of the matter on Sept 21, and that it has been in talks with involved agencies to solve the problem.
The OCS, which is the government’s legal arm, is in the process of looking into the draft amendments to the 2012 anti-doping law, it said.
Once the OCS receives written information from the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) about what is needed, the office will push for amendments to the law to comply with Wada’s regulations, the statement said.
SAT governor Gongsak Yodmani said yesterday involved parties have tried to amend the anti-doping law since last year but could not finish the task in time as it is a long process.
The SAT and officials from parties involved will hold a meeting today to find ways to solve the problem, he said.
Gongsak has sent Wada a letter to explain the issue and insisted that Thailand had no intention of ignoring the problem.
The Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (Tawa) has just served up a suspension after a number of its athletes tested positive for banned substances at the 2018 world championships.
North Korea and Indonesia were also declared non-compliant by Wada last week. Wada said the national anti-doping agencies of the two countries were ruled non-compliant for not implementing effective testing programmes.