Russian gymnasts must be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games and not tarred with the same brush as the country's banned track and field athletes, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said on Monday.
"FIG is concerned about the increasing number of officials asking for a blanket ban of Russian athletes to participate at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio," the sport's governing body said in a statement. "Whilst FIG fully supports the IOC's policy of "Zero Tolerance in Doping", it strongly feels that not all Russian athletes of all sports should be banned and found guilty for actions in other sports and federations."
However, FIG said Russian gymnasts have been subject to controls equal to those of our other leading gymnastics federations.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks