Bonn: Russia’s team will be suspended from the Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, but individual athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag, the International Paralympics Committee said on Monday.

The agreement is similar to that put in place to allow able-bodied Russian competitors to take part in next month’s Winter Olympics that precede the Paralympics.

Russia was suspended by the IPC in August 2016 following revelations of widespread state-sponsored doping.

After a review, the IPC said in a statement on Monday that “it is maintaining the suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC)”.

Eligible Para athletes from Russia will be allowed to compete in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboard and wheelchair curling at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang on March 9-18, the IPC said at a meeting in the western German city of Bonn. It said that two key criteria to end the wider suspension were still outstanding — the full reinstatement of the RUSADA by WADA, and an official response adequately addressing the McLaren findings.

IPC president Andrew Parsons said that in 2016 “the anti-doping system in Russia was found to be totally compromised, corrupted and open to abuse”.

Agence France-Presse