Doping casts shadow over Putin's hopes for sporting prestige

A proposed four-year doping ban on Russian athletes would deal a huge new blow to President Vladimir Putin's efforts to use sport to boost the country's prestige and his own reputation.

But experts say the Russian leader could also turn the ban to his advantage -- by portraying it as a politically motivated attempt by the West to once again humiliate the country at the expense of its athletes.

The executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency will meet in Paris on December 9 to consider a recommendation for the ban, which would exclude Russian athletes from major sports events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

A WADA review panel has accused Moscow of falsifying laboratory data handed over to investigators as part of a probe into the doping allegations that have plagued Russia for years.

In power for nearly 20 years, Putin has made sport and healthy living a cornerstone of his popularity and is regularly shown on state television taking part in judo matches or on the ice for hockey games.

His government poured enormous resources into Russia's hosting of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics -- the first Olympics in Russia since 1980 -- but the Games were tainted by claims of widespread, state-sponsored doping.

Russian athletes faced a series of bans over the next few years and were forced to participate in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games as neutral competitors.

- 'Headed for catastrophe' -
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- Athletes 'betrayed' -
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