AGENCY
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin will meet Russia’s dwindling Olympic team on Wednesday as the list of its athletes banned from the Rio Games over revelations of state-run doping soared above 100. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sparked fierce criticism on Sunday when it resisted a blanket ban in favour of allowing individual sports federations to make the call on which Russians can go to Rio. International sports federations are now scrambling to vet Russian athletes as time ticks down to the start of the Games on August 5. Putin, who has made sporting success a priority in a bid to harness national pride, is set to meet the Russian team in a ceremony at the Kremlin before the influential head of the country’s Orthodox Church blesses those due to set off to Rio on Thursday. (PTI)
