Athlete wins appeal to overturn 5-year ban for match-fixing

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — A Russian badminton player has won his appeal to overturn a five-year ban because his alleged involvement in betting and match-fixing was not proven. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it upheld Nikita Khakimov’s appeal “due to the lack of concrete evidence.” Khakimov had challenged a ruling by the Badminton World Federation one year ago. Khakimov was alleged to have offered a player money to manipulate a match at a European event in 2018. An investigation appointed by badminton’s governing body also accused him of destroying evidence to conceal corruption. CAS said its judges had found “insufficient evidence.”