'Banned' Russia preparing bid for 2036 Olympics

MUMBAI: Banned from bidding for the 2032 Olympics because of alleged state-sponsored doping, Russia is preparing to bid for the 2036 Olympic Games, a senior Russian minister has revealed.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Saint Petersburg and Kazan are frontrunners to be host cities for the Games.

"The bids are being prepared," Lavrov said, as reported by state-run news agency TASS. "We have several cities - St. Petersburg for sure, and I believe Kazan as well."

Lavrov held a meeting with Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Tokyo 2020 medallists in Rostov, where the possibility of the bid too was discussed, reported influential Olympic Games website insidethegames.biz

Lavrov added that Rostov should act quickly if it wanted to be considered for any ROC attempt to stage the 2036 Summer Olympics, the report said.

Russia was banned from bidding for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sanctions handed out to the country.

The WADA sanctions came on the basis of an independent inquiry into the activities of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RADA). The inquiry found that RADA had manipulated and tampered with data at the Moscow Laboratory.

Russia was banned from participation in the Tokyo Olympics under its name, anthem, and flag, leaving "neutral" athletes to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) banner.

Though the Games are still 15 years away, several cities have already announced their intention to bid for the 2036 Olympics. Among those that have announced their intention to bid for the 2036 Games are Indonesia, with Jakarta as the host, Istanbul (Turkey). There is also a joint bid from Germany and Israel while London, which hosted the 2012 Games, is also in the running.

Russian capital Moscow hosted the 1980 edition of the Summer Olympics during the Soviet era. IANS

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