Russian athletes in World Judo Championships, Ukraine refuse to participate

Doha: Ukraine has withdrawn its team from the World Judo Championships in Qatar due to the presence of Russian athletes. Kyiv said that these athletes are active soldiers.

The Ukrainian judo federation argued that "the majority of the (Russian) team are athletes who are active servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, part of the army that attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022."

The federation further added: "The Russian army is still waging a brutal full-scale war on our territory, shelling Ukrainian cities, and civilian homes every day, killing civilians and children. "Instead, more than 250 Ukrainian athletes have given their lives defending the country. Among them are representatives of judo. We do not see here neutrality, equal conditions, and a 'bridge to peace' as stated in the IJF Resolution on the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams in the World Championships in Doha. Moreover, we see here a decision that contradicts the latest recommendations of the International Olympic Committee of March 28, 2023, where the IOC says that the status of neutral athletes can only be granted to those athletes who are not military personnel."

The International Judo Federation (IJF) gave athletes from Russia and Belarus permission to compete under the condition that they compete as individual neutral athletes.

OC president Thomas Bach last month said that Russians and Belarusians were banned from international competition as they are "athletes who actively support war" and "athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies".

Moscow has been calling the sanctions imposed on athletes "discrimination on the basis of nationality".