April 1 - Fiji has hit out at the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold its ban from competing in this year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.



Fiji had appealed against the ban to the CAS in Lausanne and urged its athletes to stay in training for the Games, confident that they would win.

But the CAS today announced that they had thrown the appeal out.

Vidya Lakhan, the President of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC), said: "We can't seem to understand how the decision could have gone against us because the Commonwealth Games Federation constitution says if your country is in the Commonwealth, then your athletes can take part.

"That was the basis of our appeal to CAS.

"We're very much interested in finding out the grounds on which our appeal has been dismissed."

Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth last September when military ruler Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who seized power in a 2006 coup, refused to bow to demands to hold elections next year.


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March 2010: Fiji wait to hear whether they can compete in Commonwealth Games
December 2009: Fiji Government will not suffer because of Games ban says rugby
November 2009: Fiji threaten legal action over Commonwealth Games exclusion
November 2009: Fiji set to miss New Delhi but Rwanda to make debut
November 2009: Plan for Fiji to be allowed to compete in Delhi set for defeat