(Sports news) WADA on Friday issued a “consequences” warning to the Asian Olympic Council for permitting the North Korean flag to be flown repeatedly at the Asian Games, stating that they were “treating it extremely seriously.”

North Korea’s national anti-doping agency was deemed “non-compliant” by WADA in 2021, leading to penalties that are still in place today. They include being prohibited from flying its flag at any national, international, or continental sporting event, with the exception of the Olympics and Paralympics.

Despite this, North Korea’s flag was flown during the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, and it was frequently raised in Hangzhou as its competitors won gold.

Raja Randhir Singh, the head of the OCA, defended permitting the North Korean flag to be flown last week and said that WADA had received a letter from the Asian sports governing organisation “explaining their position” on the issue.

WADA claimed that the OCA had violated its commitments as a signatory to its anti-doping code in a statement to AFP.

“WADA takes this matter extremely seriously and has written to the OCA on several occasions before and after the opening ceremony of the Games, explaining in clear terms the possible consequences that could arise for the OCA if this matter is ignored,” it said.

“WADA is disappointed that the OCA has to date not taken steps to comply with the terms of the DPRK’s non-compliance,” it added, using an acronym for North Korea.

“WADA will follow due process to ensure that the appropriate consequences are imposed for the OCA’s refusal to meet its signatory obligations.”

The OCA, which is based in Kuwait, might face a variety of sanctions from WADA.

They consist of the withdrawal of funds from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the loss of the qualification status of OCA events for the Olympic or Paralympic Games, and the implementation of fines. When AFP contacted OCA, OCA declined to respond. 

North Korea’s already closed-off borders as a result of the Covid epidemic made it impossible for foreign testing authorities to access, so the Montreal-based WADA imposed sanctions. Recently, North Korea started to gradually reopen, and WADA said that it had started to let them back in to collect samples.

“However, the broader political status of the country means verification and quality control activities are not straightforward,” it added.

“WADA will continue to work to strengthen the anti-doping system in DPRK in order to protect all athletes.”

North Korea has produced some eye-opening achievements since its comeback to international competition despite its four-year exclusion from it, particularly in the sport of weightlifting, where its rivals have broken six world records.

The results “surprised” a few competing lifters, they claimed.

It all came down to “hard work,” according to North Korea’s team manager Jang Song Nam.

“We have not been able to compete in international weightlifting, but we have had a lot of competitions at home and that is no less a standard,” he said.

Because they skipped the required qualifying competitions earlier this year, no weightlifters from North Korea will compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Paris. All weightlifting competitors were tested at least once at the Hangzhou Games, according to the International Weightlifting Federation.

Even though the Asian Games are not under the IWF’s purview, the IWF is responsible for confirming athlete whereabouts reports made in accordance with anti-doping regulations.

A least of three months before any competition, per the rule, information had to be submitted. According to the IWF, two North Koreans were denied entry after they disobeyed.
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