CAS decision pending as Russia make Games debut

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Pyeongchang, February 8: A final Court of Arbitration for Sport decision on an appeal by Russian athletes to compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics under the official flag will be come out on Friday at 1100am local time (14.30 IST).

Russia was banned from Pyeongchang over the Sochi 2014 doping scandal and the IOC had banned dozens of athletes from the games for life and stripped their Sochi Games medals following several investigations.

CAS upheld the appeal of 28 athletes due to insufficient evidence but the International Olympic Committee still refused to invite them saying the evidence was there.

CAS is also handling appeals of Russians, including Olympic champion skater Viktor Ahn, who had not been named in the doping investigations or had any prior doping offences but were still not invited due to doping suspicions by the IOC.

However, in the Winter Games that runs tills February 25, the Russians are competing under the banner Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR).

With both Russia's homeland's banner and anthem still banned, OAR still made their debut at the Pyoengchange Games on Thursday (February 8), but were routed by the United States as mixed doubles curling launched competition at the Pyeongchang Games.

Americans brother and sister Matt and Becca Hamilton ripped the husband-and-wife team of Aleksandr Krushelnitckii and Anastasia Bryzgalova 9-3 in the first Pyeongchang Games result -- and in Olympic history for the debut event.

"I'm sure they are a little bit bummed they don't get to wear a Russian flag," Matt Hamilton said. "But that's life. You've got to take what you are given. At least they are at the Olympics."

The Hamiltons jumped ahead 3-0 and needed only seven of eight ends to take the most lopsided win of the opening round-robin session.

"We knew we had strong competition in the opening match and we would have to capitalize on their misses," Becca Hamilton said.

While the official opening ceremony is on Friday, an 18-day Olympic sports programme began when South Korea's Jang Hye-Ji slid the first stone down the curling ice.

She and Lee Ki-Jeong beat Finland 9-4. Other opening results saw Norway down Canada 9-6 and Switzerland beat China 7-5 before a near-capacity crowd of 3,000 at Gangneung Curling Centre.

(With Agency inputs)