Don't understand why Russian athletes sanctioned at Rio Games: IOC chief

Tokyo: International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach says he "still does not understand" why Russian athletes were sanctioned at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Talking to the Japanese Yomiuri newspaper, Bach said on Monday: "Concerning suspicions of possible deviations in the Russian anti-doping system, I still cannot understand why Russian athletes had to be subjected to sanctions at the Summer Games. If there were violations, they were committed by federations, to which athletes in summer sports disciplines have no relation," reports Tass.

He also noted that "Richard McLaren himself (head of the Independent Commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency) said that the investigation has not been finished yet."

"Before punishing, one should hear out the other side -- the side of athletes. And this is what lacks in McLaren's investigation," the IOC president said.