Anti-Doping Lab Qatar’s (ADLQ) sixth annual forum started yesterday under the patronage of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) president HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani. The forum’s theme is combating doping for humans and animals.
QOC secretary general Dr Thani Abdulrahman al-Kuwari opened the two-day event with a speech in which he expressed pride to be attending the event that mainly aims to implement the regulations and laws of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
With support from HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, al-Kuwari said, Qatar is at the front of countries keen on achieving WADA’s noble goals in developing sports in general and establishing an anti-doping lab in Doha in particular.
Al-Kuwari added that Qatar is fully aware of the importance of supporting anti-doping efforts in sports, pointing to the endorsement of ADLQ by the executive bureau of WADA on September 25, 2015, making it the 34th lab across the world.
The QOC secretary general said Qatar is proud of several initiatives and programmes that it launched in favour of fighting doping at the local, regional and international levels.
In turn, WADA director general David Howman expressed delight to be in Doha and thanked Qatar for the tireless efforts in the fight against doping in humans and animals.
He said the scientific forum hosted in Doha in May 2015 during the ADLQ’s fifth annual forum featured fruitful sessions that resulted in the exchange of ideas, visions and practical and applicable experiences, noting that leading international scientists discussed all the sides of the doping plague, which continues to haunt sport and athletes.
Howman added that professionals working in the anti-doping field are trying to limit the phenomenon through the use of modern technologies to detect doping activity, and the development of ways to combat it, particularly as it affects public health and fair athletic competition.