KHL agrees to let Russians, others compete at Olympics

Moscow (dpa) - Russia‘s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) supports the nation‘s players to compete at the Olympic tournament in Pyeongchang as neutral athletes and will also release KHL players from other countries for the Games.KHL leaders on Wednesday followed the decision of Russia‘s Olympic Committee from the previous day to let the athletes compete in South Korea although an official Russian team is not allowed there."The KHL Board of Directors has expressed its support for the decision of the Russian national ice hockey team to participate in the Olympic Games in PyeongChang as neutrals and also wished success at the quadrennial tournament to all KHL players representing their respective national teams," the TASS news agency quoted a statement as saying.The KHL had initially threatened a boycott should Russia not be allowed to compete at the Games over International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctions in connection with doping practices in Russia and at the Sochi 2014 Olympics.However, it remains to be seen which Russian players will be allowed to play at the February 9-25 Games, with the final saying on athkletes who have to be clean with the IOC. The KHL boasts teams and players ranking from Slovakia to China and is the second-strongest league in the world, following the North American Hockey League (NHL).KHL participation is good news for the Games because the NHL is not breaking up its season to allow players to compete at the Olympics. Clubs could however decide to release players.while the Russian men‘s team has not been affected by IOC sanctions on Russian athletes, six women‘s players from 2014 have been banned. However, there is hope that a Russian women‘s teams will also be able to play in Pyeongchang.