EXTRA IOC boss Bach: Russians not invited because of doubts they are clean

Frankfurt (dpa) - International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has defended the decision not to to invite Russians including biathlete Anton Shipulin and cross-country skier Sergey Ustiugov to next month‘s Olympics because there no full proof that they are clean."We want only clean Russian athletes," bach said in a conference call, adding that an IOC review panel has "serious doubts" whether they are clean.The IOC has said that 111 Russian athletes from an original list of 500 proposed athletes have been rejected by the panel. The final list of Russians eligible for invitation to the February 9-25 Games in Pyeongchang is to come after a meeting Saturday.Russian athletes can only compete as neutrals in South Korea in the wake of doping practices. Bach said that each case is carefully checked and that "in the end the invitation list will consist of clean athletes. neither Russia nor other countries will have to expect negative surprises in Pyeongchang."dpa ac bag