Athletes from Russia will not compete at Hangzhou Asian Games, International Olympic Committee decides

New Delhi: In a blow to their Olympic hopes, athletes from Russia and Belarus have not been allowed to compete at the Asian Games, which begin on September 23, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said.

The decision, the OCA added without elaborating, was taken by the IOC who, in turn, said the idea was ‘not feasible due to technical reasons’This means that the Russian and Belarusian athletes, who are already in a race against time to compete at the Paris Olympics, will have to find another route to get to the French capital.