Azerbaijan rejects Russian Paralympic quotas

After Russian Paralympic athletes were disqualified from the competitions in Rio de Janeiro, three Russian quotas went to Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 23, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed the appeal filed by the Russian Paralympic Committee against the disqualification from the Olympic Games.

"In the manner unknown to us, the licences earned by Russian athletes have been distributed among the athletes of other countries. Azerbaijan got three licences. However, we have not earned them," says today Azad Ragimov, Minister of Youth and Sports, as quoted by the agency "Interfax-South".

According to the Minister, the disqualification of Russian athletes from participation in the 2016 Paralympic Games is a wrong step. The Minister has also expressed his astonishment regarding the distribution of licences without court's decision.

Azerbaijan will not accept the licences of Russian Paralympic athletes until the decision of the court, the agency "Trend" reports today.

After the disqualification of Russian athletes, the US national team was granted 22 additional licences, and the Australian national team nine licences, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.