Russian curling chief slams IOC ban as 'unprofessional'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of Russia's curling federation on Tuesday slammed the IOC decision to ban Russia from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as unprofessional. "I consider that the IOC's decision is unprofessional," the federation's president, Dmitry Svishchev, told Reuters. "I am profoundly convinced that it was made under pressure. Someone needed Russia not to participate in the Games." (Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Hugh Lawson)