LAHORE: The rising number of doping cases in Pakistan athletes during the past few years and lack of coordination among the authorities concerned to eradicate this menace once and for all is damaging for the country’s sport which is already on the decline at the international level.

The country faced embarrassment at the world level when three of its athletes tested positive at the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu; then two Pakistan weightlifters failed the dope test at the 2021 World Championship in Tashkent.

And now seven kabaddi players, who were tested during the national championship staged in Lahore in January this year also came out positive.

According to the information gathered by Dawn, the main responsibility and authority to conduct dope tests in Pakistan lies with the Anti-Doping Agency of Pakistan (ADOP), working under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). ADOP is headed by Dr Waqar.

Unfortunately however, the ADOP has no funds to conduct the tests on its own, and it wants either the government or the relevant national federations to bear the huge cost of conducting dope tests, each of which costs around $350.

Conducting the dope tests during the national championship was a bold decision taken by the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) which also bore the entire cost of the testing of 13 players.

When contacted, ADOP chairman Dr Waqar was not willing to speak about the agency’s role in detail.

However, he said ADOP was willing to play its role.

“ADOP is ready to carry out dope tests at the request of national sports federations or the [Pakistan] government at any time; and the cost [of the tests] will be paid by them [government or the federation],” he said.

Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) director general retired Col Asif Zaman, when contacted, also expressed his concern over the rising number of doping cases in the country, adding “it is the job of national sports federations and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to eradicate the menace”.

To a question, Asif said there must be an authority in Pakistan comprising all the stakeholders — PSB, POA and the sports federations — to prepare a solid policy to regularise the entire process of dope testing.

“Currently, it seems the POA is the regulatory authority in this regard as it has formed a committee to probe the positive dope tests of the [above-mentioned] kabaddi players while the PSB has no role in it,” Asif reckoned.

“If the PSB spends money on dope testing, it would have the authority to regulate it.”

Speaking on the subject, POA secretary general Khalid Mahmood said ADOP had the authority to conduct dope tests and no one could stop it from doing this job.

On who would bear the costs, Khalid said it was the duty of the government of Pakistan and the federations to strictly conduct dope tests, noting the international authorities were quite firm on this subject.

“The Olympic Movement paid the 50 per cent cost of the dope testing while 50 per cent has to be borne by either by the government or the federations.”

He further said the POA partially bore the expenditure of testing eight players of different disciplines, who participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, because without prior testing they were not allowed to participate in the Olympics.

It may be mentioned here that the PSB in the past had formed ADOP, which was not recognised by WADA and the POA, claiming forming such a body was not the domain of any government.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2022