By Duncan Mackay

Anti Doping control kitNovember 20 - Ankara's drug testing laboratory is set to have its accreditation reinstated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after it had it suspended last year because of a false positive involving American basketball star Diana Taurasi. 


The Turkish Doping Control Centre (TDCC), based at Hacettepe University in Ankara, was stripped of its accreditation in June 2011 after a urine sample provided by Taurasi, a member of the United States teams that won Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008, allegedly showed traces of the banned substance modafinil.

The results led to Taurasi being sacked by her club Fenerbahçe.

But the laboratory later admitted that they had made a mistake and Taurasi was exonerated, reclaiming her place in the US team at London 2012, where she won her third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Diana Taurasi celebrates London 2012 gold medal August 11Diana Taurasi won her third Olympic gold medal at London 2012 but was nearly banned for the Games after the laboratory in Ankara was guilty of a massive mistake

But, following a review and having reassured that it has raised its standards, the TDCC is expected to have its accreditation restored in the near future.

"Executive Board members agreed that the Ankara Laboratory's application for reaccreditation proceeds with an immediate accelerated process," said a statement from WADA.