WADA suspends Beijing anti-doping lab
World Anti-Doping Agency suspends Beijing's National Anti-Doping laboratory for maximum of four months for falling short of international standards
Participants talk before the start of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Symposium for Anti-Doping Organizations in Lausanne, Switzerland, in this March 24, 2015 file photo.
Beijing's National Anti-Doping laboratory was suspended for a maximum of four months by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Thursday after failing to comply with international standards.
"The suspension, which takes effect immediately, prohibits the laboratory from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples," WADA said in a statement.
The Beijing laboratory has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
WADA said the laboratory can apply for reinstatement before the four months is up if it takes five remedial steps outlined by the Disciplinary Committee and tackles "non-conformities."
It did not give any further details.
A Moscow anti-doping laboratory, which has also failed to meet the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL), had its accreditation revoked by WADA on Friday.
The lab had been non-operational since WADA suspended it in November after an independent commission's report identified systematic failures within Russia's anti-doping programme.
Russia is currently suspended from international track and field in the wake of the report exposing widespread cheating and corruption and its athletes could miss the Rio Olympics.
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