Russian Paralympic Committee president Vladimir Lukin has hinted that the nation is considering an appeal against its total ban from the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
The International Paralympic Committee confirmed on Sunday that the Russian Federation's 267 competitors, across 18 different sports, will not be allowed to compete in the upcoming Games.
Russia's ban follows a damning report released last month which exposed widespread doping, but the International Olympics Committee decided against a blanket ban for athletes competing in the Olympics.
"The vast majority of our sportsmen are absolutely clean," Lukin said at a news conference in Moscow. "I'm used to a dose of absurdity in life, but this dose is now off the scale.
"Inevitably, suspicions arise that this is provoked by something unsportsmanlike, something else. We absolutely do not want to quarrel, get carried away with emotions - only the weak get carried away with emotions. We will stand our ground in a civilised way."
The Paralympics are scheduled to get underway on September 7 and will run for 11 days.
Daniel Lewis
