Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), Raja Sapta Oktohari, said KOI has helped the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI) get in touch with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to seek the lifting of sanctions.

He said he met with WADA President Witold Baka and secretary general Olivier Niggli at the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Crete, Greece, on Sunday.

The international agency has said it is open to helping Indonesia resolve its pending matters, he informed.

“It turns out that there have been difficulties communicating with WADA as we still do it through e-mail. Now, we have direct lines to all key persons of the agency,” the KOI chairman said in a press release received here on Monday.

Furthermore, KOI, through the WADA Sanctions Revocation Acceleration Task Force, will continue to encourage LADI to immediately resolve matters as a requirement for the lifting of sanctions, he added.

“I told the WADA officers, we will not wait for one year for the sanctions to end as we plan to bring many international sporting events to Indonesia,” Oktohari remarked.

“However, they said that all sanctions could be lifted immediately as long as LADI was able to resolve pending matters,” he added.

Hence, all stakeholders are striving to resolve the issue as soon as possible, especially LADI which has to work quickly to fulfill the requirement, he said.

He said he believed that if LADI can fulfill the conditions, the sanctions can be lifted and Indonesia can restore its right for competing in international sporting events and host international championships.

The 25th ANOC General Assembly in Crete, Greece, was held on October 24-25, 2021 to discuss several agendas, for instance, prioritizing solidarity by promoting the neutrality of the Olympic Movement as a form of mutual respect.

Source: Antara News