'Russia pondering alternative games for banned paralympians'

Russia may organise a special competition for its para-athletes who have been banned from participating in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Thursday.

"All paralympians will continue training until a certain point of no return when we already understand that there will be no chances," the minister said, reports Tass.

"But after that they will also have the full support, I believe we will think about a sports event for them," he added.

The Paralympics begin on September 7 and continue till September 18 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

According to the minister, Russia may file an appeal with the Swiss Federal Court against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling upholding the suspension of the national team from the 2016 Paralympics.

"The ruling passed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport may be appealed by the Russian Paralympic Committee in case of procedural violations," Mutko told journalists.

"We are submitting now a relevant lawsuit with the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland."

Russia is also working to restore the All-Russia Athletics Federation's (ARAF) membership in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Mutko said.

"Speaking about our track and field national team, we are pursuing the task of restoring its membership in the international federation in order to see our athletes competing in the global arena beginning next season."

The Russian sports minister added he hoped to see the result of work on the restoration of ARAF's membership in IAAF "by the coming autumn."

--IANS

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