After its athletes battled waves of controversy in the recently-held 2016 Rio Olympics, another group of Russian athletes is facing the consequences of the country's alleged widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs.

According to the Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS), a Switzerland-based organization that is considered as the world's most prominent sports court, the entire Russian Team would be banned from participating in the upcoming 2016 Paralympics Games in Rio.

The Russian Paralympic athletes had been under scrutiny since early August when the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) decided to impose a ban on the participants of the upcoming games due to an alleged country-wide doping system. The disturbing findings were found by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The accusations against the Russians further stated that the country is using performance-enhancing drugs for its athletes in every Olympics discipline and several key Paralympics fields.

IPC President Philip Craven has laid the blame on the Russian government, whom he believes has wronged its athletes.

"Russia has catastrophically failed its para-athletes. Their medals-over-morals mentality disgusts me," he said after the Russian team was banned from the Paralympic Games.

Despite the ban, Russia nonetheless attempted to overturn the ruling through an appeal. Eventually, however, the appeal was rejected, with the CAS ruling that the IPC was completely within its rights when it denied the Russian athletes entry into the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Craven has welcomed the CAS' support, emphasizing that the Olympic and the Paralympic games are an event where athletes perform and compete on equal ground.

"Today's decision underlines our strong belief that doping has absolutely no place in Paralympic sport, and further improves our ability to ensure fair competition and a level playing field for all Para athletes around the world," he said.

Nevertheless, Craven has also extended his sympathy to the Russian athletes, who would be missing out on the event due to their country's transgressions.

"Although we are pleased with the decision, it is not a day for celebration and we have enormous sympathy for the Russian athletes who will now miss out on the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games," he said.

"It is a sad day for the Paralympic Movement, but we hope also a new beginning," Craven said in the statement. "We hope this decision acts as a catalyst for change in Russia and we can welcome the Russian Paralympic Committee back as a member safe in the knowledge that it is fulfilling its obligations to ensure fair competition for all."  

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