Montreal, September 28: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has its Athlete Engagement and Independent Observer (IO) teams in Nagoya, Japan, for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.
India’s Saravana Perumal Shanmugam, manager at WADA’s Asia/Oceania Office, is team manager of the five-member IO team, which will watch over the anti-doping programme at the Games.
The Games opened on September 19 and run until October 4, with more than 11,000 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees competing in 469 medal events across 43 sports.
WADA president Witold Bańka, vice-president Yang Yang, director general Olivier Niggli and Dr YaYa Yamamoto, director of the Asia/Oceania Office, are also in Japan to meet athletes, support staff and anti-doping partners.
What the independent observers will check
The Games’ anti-doping programme is run by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), with support from the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA), international federations and the local organising committee.
The IO team will give daily feedback to organisers and look at every stage of the process: test planning, recruitment and training of sample collection staff, athlete selection and notification, sample collection, transport and chain of custody of samples, Therapeutic Use Exemptions and results management. It will issue a report with recommendations after the Games.
Lin Ling, director of testing at the China Anti-Doping Agency, chairs the team. The other members are Amr Adel of the United Arab Emirates National Anti-Doping Organization, Lucas Harrati of the Biathlon Integrity Unit and Bronwen Knox, a four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic bronze medallist in water polo.
Athlete engagement led by former athletes
The Athlete Engagement team is working with athletes and support staff on clean sport, alongside the OCA’s ‘Guarding the Asian Games’ programme.
It includes Japanese Olympian Dr Yuka Murofushi, who threw the hammer at the Athens 2004 Olympics and won Asian Games bronze in the event. The others are Nashfa Amira (Maldives), Mathivani Murugeesan (Malaysia), former squash professional Katriona Ross (Scotland), Stacy Spletzer-Jegen (United States) and Zara Maireroa (New Zealand).
Materials produced for the programme will be used again at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya from October 18-24.
What WADA’s leaders said
“WADA is pleased to collaborate with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) throughout Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The OCA and JADA have been strong partners in the protection of clean sport for many years,” Bańka said.
Niggli said the Games were “an important opportunity for us to collaboratively champion WADA’s mission for doping-free sport, educate athletes, and continue to ensure that athletes across Asia are competing on a level playing field.”
Yang, a two-time Olympic short-track speed skating champion, said: “The Asian Games hold a special significance to me, so it is a pleasure to be here in Japan for this edition. I see myself in the athletes competing at Aichi-Nagoya – filled with excitement and nervous energy as they prepare to compete on the international stage.”
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