RUSSIA (REUTERS) - The wait will be over for anxious Russian athletes on Monday (Dec 9) when the World Anti-Doping Agency, Wada, meets in Switzerland to decide whether the country's athletes will be barred from the Tokyo games in 2020.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was suspended after a 2015 Wada report found evidence of state-sponsored doping.

Subsequently, the country was barred from the Rio Olympics athletics competition the following year.

Russian athletes competed as independents at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, walking behind the Olympic rings flag at the opening ceremony.

The suspension was lifted in September 2018 amid strong criticism as Wada gradually got access to key Russian athletes' data from a Russian dope testing laboratory.

But in September Wada said it had again opened compliance proceedings against RUSADA after finding "inconsistencies" in the vast bank of historical testing data finally handed over in January.

International sports bodies and officials have heavily criticized Russia over its latest doping offenses, alleging the country has once again violated the ethos of sport.

Monday's decision is likely to determine whether Russian athletes - who can prove they are clean - will compete as neutrals or whether some will be invited by the IOC to compete in Tokyo.