Russian Olympic Committee to focus on reinstating Russia in IOC

Reinstating Russia in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be the main task for the Russian Olympic Committee, its President Stanislav Pozdnyakov has said.

"Of course, our main task at the present moment is to at least restore, if not to increase the number of Russian members of the IOC," Pozdnyakov told Russian news agency Tass on Friday.

In comments on his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Thursday, he said they had discussed international activity of the Russian Olympic Committee, its activity as an instrument of sports diplomacy, preparations of the Russian national team for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and 2022 Winter Olympics to be hosted by Beijing.

Pozdnyakov, 44, was elected to take the post of the ROC president on May 29. He is a four-time Olympic gold medallist and 10-time world champion in fencing.

Early in May, previous ROC President Alexander Zhukov made an official statement saying he had no plan to run for another presidential term in Russia's governing Olympic body due to his additional work in the Russian parliament's lower house.

--IANS

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