In the race for win

Russia flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Russia gets handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) including 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Cup. But to be fair to the athletes, for those who can prove they are untainted by the doping scandal will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag. This decision comes after Russia's Anti Doping Agency (Rusada) was declared non-compliant for manipulating laboratory data handed over to investigators in January 2019. Russia had to hand over data to Wada as a condition of its controversial reinstatement in 2018 after a three-year suspension for its vast state-sponsored doping scandal. The rampant prevalence of doping in high level sporting events is a matter of misconduct and violation of ethics that maintain that equal opportunities must be available to those who earn it, and on this basis of earned equality, competing performers stand at par with each other. Enhanced capacities to perform with the aid of dope disregard the sport and the event for which thousands toil hard and practice and harbour the ambition of performing in greatest of sporting events. It was not too long ago when Tennis player Maria Sharapova fell from grace on this very same account. Her explanation holds some significance in a very limited sense with respect a subjectively determined bodily deficiency, owing to which supplements thus taken could amount to objectionable conduct, however, propagating the attitude of cheat for win. Moreover, with respect to the ban imposed on Russia, Wada president Sir Craig Reedie said that the decision showed its "determination to act resolutely in the face of the Russian doping crisis". He added that "For too long, Russian doping has detracted from clean sport. The blatant breach by the Russian authorities of Rusada's reinstatement conditions demanded a robust response. Delivering precisely that, Russia has been served an important lesson as it was previously granted opportunity to mend its ways and re-join the global anti-doping community for the good of its athletes and of the integrity of sports. Continuing with deception and denial has caused Russia heavily this time.