The Indonesian NADO was one of three declared non-compliant by WADA last week ©Getty Images

Indonesia's Sports Minister Zainudin Amali has blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the non-conformities which saw the country's National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.

As reported by Reuters, Amali claimed the impact of the pandemic had prevented Indonesia's NADO from taking sufficient samples from athletes and sending them to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"This caused the sample requirement to not be fulfilled," he said.

Amali added that the Indonesian Government plans to send samples to WADA from a national sports event being held in Papua province.

Indonesia has been one of the countries worst affected by the pandemic, recording more than 4 million cases and in excess of 140,000 deaths, although its latest wave has declined significantly since its peak in July.

The country's NADO was confirmed as non-compliant by WADA last Thursday (October 7) along with the North Korean NADO because of "non conformities" in their testing programmes.

Thailand's NADO was also declared non-compliant for failing to implement the 2021 Code in the country's legal system, but as per the Reuters report, the Sports Authority of Thailand plans to ask WADA to reconsider the non-compliant declaration, claiming a refreshing of anti-doping regulations was held up by internal legal procedures.

The Thai, Indonesian and North Korean national flags cannot be flown at major events under the sanctions, with the exception of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Indonesia staged the Asian Games in 2018 and hopes to host the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics, but the WADA sanctions prevent it from being awarded major events for a minimum of a year and not until the non-compliance declaration is lifted ©Getty Images
Indonesia staged the Asian Games in 2018 and hopes to host the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics, but the WADA sanctions prevent it from being awarded major events for a minimum of a year and not until the non-compliance declaration is lifted ©Getty Images

Both NADOs are also required to have "activities related to their outstanding testing corrective actions" supervised by an "approved third party" at their own expense, "including up to six site visits per year."

All three countries are not allowed to be awarded the right to host any regional, continental or World Championship events by any Code signatory for a minimum of a year and not until the non-compliance declaration is lifted.

Events already scheduled to be held in Thailand and Indonesia can go ahead, including the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Bali.

Indonesia hosted the last edition of the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang in 2018.

It had expressed an interest in staging the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were eventually granted to Brisbane, and Indonesian Olympic Committee President Raja Sapta Oktohari insists the country still hopes to be considered for the 2036 Games.

It is likely to face stiff competition as a number of parties have expressed their interest in the 2036 Games, and being declared non-compliant by WADA is unlikely to help the country's candidature.