Russia's ban from all major sporting events after a doping scandal has been cut to two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The ban still prevents Russia from competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, set to be held next year, and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Russia was initially given a four-year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Cas said the reduction of the ban should not be seen "as any validation" of Russia's conduct.

The ban will now run until 16 December 2022, meaning Russia is also banned from competing at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.

World Athletics said it will decide in March 2021 whether to allow Russian athletes who can prove they are clean to compete as neutral athletes in international athletics competitions.

The governing body has previously said a maximum of 10 Russian track and field athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag at the Tokyo Games, which were postponed to July 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Russia will be allowed to play at next year's delayed Euro 2020 tournament because European football's governing body Uefa is not defined as a "major event organisation" with regards to rulings on anti-doping breaches.