Political gains behind Rio ban on Russians: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held political advantages responsible for the disqualification of some of his country’s athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, arguing that their absence has impaired the quality of the event. 

Addressing the Russian Olympic delegation, which is scheduled to depart for Rio on Thursday, Putin stated that those excluded from the Olympics over doping allegations are indeed victims of “double standards” and a campaign against Russia’s sports.

“Short-sighted pseudo-politicians can't leave sports alone, even though it's sport that unites peoples and smoothes out contradictions between countries. The situation we have today has gone beyond law regulations and common sense,” Putin said.

The Russian president added, “It's obvious that the absence of Russian competitors will lower the intensity of the fight and spectacle at the upcoming events.  Other sportsmen understand that the quality of their medals will be different.”

More than 100 Russian athletes, including track and field stars Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Shubenkov, will miss the Rio Olympics after they failed their drug tests.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has already banned 41 Russian sportspeople besides 67 track and field athletes from the Olympics in Brazil.

On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected clarion calls for a blanket ban on Russia, allowing sports federations with individual competitors to take part in the event.

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