Russian anti-doping chief predicts Olympic ban for national squad

Berating the Russian authorities who handed over fabricated lab data to international investigators, chief of Russia's anti-doping agency has predicted that the national squad will be banned in Olympics for a long time. These accusations are the latest to have plagued Russian sports after the country was prohibited from taking part in numerous competitions in the midst of state-sponsored doping accusations.

A dire situation for Russia

Head of Russia's RUSADA agency, Yuri Ganus said that the Russian Olympic squad will not be allowed to take part in the 2020 Tokyo games with a possible ban in the Winter Olympic Games in China. 

He further added that the best possible option will be selective participation in relation to those players who get an official invitation to take part in the 2020 games. Ganus was of the opinion that Russia may be barred from holding international games on its home soil alongside the removal of Russian athletes from international sports federations.

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Inconsistencies in electronic data

In the events that preceded, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) asked the concerned Russian authorities to provide an explanation in relation to the inconsistency that was caught in the data handed over to the lab for various tests. 

The data that was handed over to showcase Russia's willingness to be transparent following accusations that the RUSADA was involved in the state-sponsored doping between 2011 and 2015. 

On Wenesday, the WADA's Compliance Review Committee met officials who have had a look at the data handed over by Russia. The committee will also be looking into the explanations given by Russia.

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"High ranking officials are involved"

Yuri Ganus suspects the involvement of high-ranking officials in the scandal since the data was under the control of Russia's Investigative Committee. He also added that these high-ranking officials might have intervened to protect the top athletes from being exposed in the doping scandal.

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(With inputs from agencies)