Russian paralympians have a year to enter 2018 Games

The decision on Russia's participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games will be made on February 1 next year, Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Secretary General Andrei Strokin said on Friday.

"It is possible to file a request for bilateral invitations, to be considered by the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) on January 8-25, 2018. On February 1, the IPC will determine athletes and countries that will get bilateral invitations," Strokin said.

"There is also a possibility to take part in the Paralympic Games under quotas waived by national paralympic committees. These quotas will be allocated until July 31, 2017."

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on August 7 barred Russia from taking part in the 2016 paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on August 23 upheld the IPC ruling that came on the heels of a report delivered in July by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission, chaired by Canadian sports law professor Richard McLaren.

Besides banning Russia from the Rio Games, the IPC also decided to suspend the RPC membership. The Russian paralympic team is now facing a possibility of being banned from the 2018 Winter Paralympics.

The IPC on November 21 last year made public a list of criteria Russia must meet to resume its membership and be allowed to take part in international competitions. Officials from the two paralympic organisations met in mid-December in Bonn to discuss these criteria.

The RPC referred to the IPC on January 11 its edition of the roadmap for resumption of its membership.

The IPC has positively evaluated the work of the RPC on its membership reinstatement in the global body, IPC President Philip Craven said on January 31.

--IANS

sam/bg