Russian para athletes ban imposed under political pressure
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 8 (IANS) The suspension of Russian para athletes from the Rio 2016 Olympics by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was made under political pressure, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Alexander Zhukov has said.
The corresponding decision was announced by IPC President Philip Craven on Sunday, reports Sputnik.
“The International Paralympic Committee acted differently, unlike the IOC International Olympic Committee. Obviously they could not bear powerful political pressure,” Zhukov told R-Sport on Sunday.
On July 24, the IOC ruled against a blanket ban of the entire Russian team amid a widespread doping scandal and left it to the respective international federations to decide on whether individual Russian athletes will be participating in the Rio Olympics.
