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Shut out Russia

Shut out Russia

Is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to ban its athletes from international competition justified?

Vladimir Putin is not a happy man. In fact, the Russian President is extremely angry. This because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has decided to ban all athletes competing under the Russian flag for four years. This is an unprecedented punishment as the ban will cover all major competitions, including the Olympics and the football World Cup. In the case of the latter, even if Russia qualifies for the 2022 World Cup, the athletes will not be allowed to represent their nation. And while Russian athletes, who can prove that they did not submit to what WADA called a systematic State-sponsored doping regime, can represent themselves at global competitions, they cannot do so under the Russian tricolour. President Putin described this as proof of a global anti-Russian campaign. But was WADA justified? Yes, thanks to Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, who called out how Russian spies were tampering with results and even managing to break open and reseal apparently “untamperable” urine sample bottles. So the case was strong. This systematic tampering has been going on for years and was apparently part of an attempt by the Russian authorities to paint the nation as a sporting superpower, much like it was done in the days of the Soviet Union. Some Western analysts say that the ban doesn’t go far enough with some athletes, who apparently gained from the doping regime but were never caught and were still able to compete, albeit under the Olympic flag. If the Russian team qualifies for the World Cup in Qatar, a workaround will be found. Incidentally, this ban does not apply to tournaments not classified as “major” like the Euro 2020 football championship, where the Russian city of St Petersburg will host some matches and the team has qualified.

All said and done, the sports world has to continue to crack down on drug cheats. The drugs that some athletes use are getting more and more advanced and is easy to hide. Moreover, in a technological arms race between drugs and detection, the latter is losing. Was Russia just a bit stupid that it got caught? Would such a punishment ever be imposed on a Western nation? These are questions that need some answering. But for now, this is not final as Russia has said that it will appeal against this decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

Shut out Russia

Shut out Russia

Is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to ban its athletes from international competition justified?

Vladimir Putin is not a happy man. In fact, the Russian President is extremely angry. This because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has decided to ban all athletes competing under the Russian flag for four years. This is an unprecedented punishment as the ban will cover all major competitions, including the Olympics and the football World Cup. In the case of the latter, even if Russia qualifies for the 2022 World Cup, the athletes will not be allowed to represent their nation. And while Russian athletes, who can prove that they did not submit to what WADA called a systematic State-sponsored doping regime, can represent themselves at global competitions, they cannot do so under the Russian tricolour. President Putin described this as proof of a global anti-Russian campaign. But was WADA justified? Yes, thanks to Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, who called out how Russian spies were tampering with results and even managing to break open and reseal apparently “untamperable” urine sample bottles. So the case was strong. This systematic tampering has been going on for years and was apparently part of an attempt by the Russian authorities to paint the nation as a sporting superpower, much like it was done in the days of the Soviet Union. Some Western analysts say that the ban doesn’t go far enough with some athletes, who apparently gained from the doping regime but were never caught and were still able to compete, albeit under the Olympic flag. If the Russian team qualifies for the World Cup in Qatar, a workaround will be found. Incidentally, this ban does not apply to tournaments not classified as “major” like the Euro 2020 football championship, where the Russian city of St Petersburg will host some matches and the team has qualified.

All said and done, the sports world has to continue to crack down on drug cheats. The drugs that some athletes use are getting more and more advanced and is easy to hide. Moreover, in a technological arms race between drugs and detection, the latter is losing. Was Russia just a bit stupid that it got caught? Would such a punishment ever be imposed on a Western nation? These are questions that need some answering. But for now, this is not final as Russia has said that it will appeal against this decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

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