The chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia Medical Commission has slammed Indian officials for their laid-back attitude in trying to get temporary accreditation for the dope control lab in New Delhi ahead of the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in October.
"Only God knows whether the laboratory will get the temporary accreditation ahead of the Afro-Asian Games," Dr Y Kuroda, chairman of Medical Commission, OCA said in Delhi on Thursday, before leaving for Tokyo after completing a four-day visit to India.
"Yesterday I strongly recommended to them that they need to work harder. They must still try and try," he said.
"Around 50 per cent of the work is done but another 50 is still left," Kuroda said, adding "I appreciate the progress" but "even for temporary accreditation it takes about six months and it's already late, very late."
Kuroda wondered why the authorities did not make use of the two years when the Games were postponed twice.
"It (the two postponements) were lucky for the laboratory but they wasted the time and only this year they made some progress," he said adding that Delhi lab's request is looked into as a special case.
Kuroda said once a lab applies for accreditation, the IOC will discuss the matter, check the facilities and then the IOC Medical Commission will send a test sample to the concerned lab. The lab will analyse the sample and send the report document back to the IOC. If the document is satisfactory then accreditation is granted.
In his meetings with the laboratory officials, Dr Kuroda again reminded them that the ISO standards and IOC standards are different.
"The lab has succeeded in getting ISO 17025 certificate but that is not enough for the IOC accreditation. The ISO and IOC standards are not the same," he said.
Dr Kuroda also visited Hyderabad where the Games will be held from October 24 to November 1.
He also said the Japanese authorities would be helping India with a refresher course ahead of the Games.
"Dr Sheela Jain (of the Delhi Lab) will visit Tokyo on August 26. She will talk to the director of the Tokyo laboratory. And for two weeks in September they will help out their Indian counterparts," he said.
During his visit, Dr Kuroda held discussions with senior Sports Ministry, SAI and IOA officials.
