Sochi stripped of world champ’ships

Former Olympic medalist beaten in Mexico ‘Preparations for the Asian Games going smoothly’

LAUSANNE, Dec 14, (AFP): Sochi was stripped Tuesday as the host of next year’s bobsleigh and skeleton world championships amid accusations of state-sponsored doping against Russia, bringing a furious response from Moscow at what it dubbed a baseless “political decision”.

The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) had come under pressure to move the event from the 2014 Winter Olympics host city after last week’s damning report by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren which implicated more than 1,000 Russian athletes in at least 30 sports in a statesponsored doping programme.

“The IBSF executive committee felt that during this difficult time it is prudent not to organise such an event in Russia,” a statement by the sports governing body read, adding a new location would be decided in the coming days.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov reacted immediately, saying Russia “enormously regretted” the decision.

“We’re convinced that this was a political decision. It’s based on statements without any evidence,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the R-Sport agency.

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov expressed his surprise. “There is an agreement for the organisation of these Left to right: Rita Subowa, OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam, Gatot S. Dewa Broto, Wai Jizhong and Indonesian Olympic Committee President Erick Thohir at the inauguration ceremony press conference. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec 14: The Olympic Council of Asia held an Inauguration Ceremony for its representative office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday evening.

The office will assist in the smooth preparations for the OCA’s 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang in 2018 by providing a daily communications and operations hub between the organising committee INASGOC, the Indonesian Olympic Committee and the OCA.

The Director General of the OCA, Husain Al Musallam, said: “This new office will definitely add value for the Olympic Movement in Asia and especially for the Asian Games in 2018 with close coordination with the organising committee. “The inauguration of this representative office is a special occasion and will be a very positive step to show the cooperation between the OCA and the organising committee of the 18th Asian Games.”

Al Musallam said that the new office followed the strategic roadmap approved at the OCA General Assembly in Vietnam last September, when the OCA decided to open a series of offices in all five zones of the continent.

“The OCA has learned from past