WADA Lifts Indonesian Sanctions On February 3, Red And White Are Ready To Fly Again

The badminton team that won the Thomas Cup in 2021 (INSTAGRAM @badminton.ina)

JAKARTA — Sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for Indonesia will be lifted tomorrow Thursday, February 3. This means that the Red and White flag can fly again at important events.

This information was conveyed by the Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), Raja Sapta Oktohari, in an official release on Wednesday, February 2.

“God willing, on February 2, Montreal time, Canada or February 3, we will receive good news. The news that all Indonesians have been waiting for", said Oktohari, who is also the chairman of the WADA Sanctions Acceleration Settlement Task Force.

WADA has conveyed the plan to lift Indonesia's sanctions in their letter to the Indonesian Olympic Committee on Friday, January 14.

If the revocation is properly carried out on Thursday tomorrow, then it will be faster than the duration of one year since it was imposed on October 7 last year.

“The sanctions, which were originally one year, can be completed within four months. This is a joint effort", said Oktohari.

Indonesia was sanctioned for not meeting WADA standards. In a statement dated October 7, they stated that the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI) as the program implementer failed to meet the annual target number of doping tests.

The letter contained important items, one of which was to prohibit Indonesia from flying the Red and White flag at sporting events.

In addition, this sanction also prohibits Indonesia from hosting regional, continental, and international sports championships.

As a result of this sanction, the Indonesian team was not allowed to fly the Red and White flag in the procession of handing over the Thomas Cup trophy last year. In fact, it became an important moment because Indonesia ended the title drought for the last 19 years in the most prestigious team event.