The Ukrainian Judo Federation will boycott the 2023 World Championships associated with the Olympic qualification for Paris 2024 in protest against the decision of the international federation to allow the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the competition.
The Ukrainian federal body noted that “a large part of the Russian team consists of judokas who fight in the war as soldiers of the Russian Federation” after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 with the support of Belarus.
“We believe that this decision [da Federação Internacional de Judo (IJF)] goes against the latest recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, according to which the status of a neutral athlete can only be granted to those who do not interfere in the conflict,” Ukrainian officials warned.
The Kiev federation recalled that “more than 250 Ukrainian athletes died defending their country, including several judokas,” saying it did not find “neutrality and equal treatment” in the decision announced on Saturday by the IJF.
The international organization has issued a resolution allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to return as neutrals for the next World Championships in Doha from May 7 to 14, which they note as the accrual of “significant points in the qualification”, which began as early as June 2022.
The decision guarantees “fair participation” and “equal opportunity” without discrimination “who pursues the Olympic dream”, basing the decision on the grounds given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and on the concept of the United Nations which “supports the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to play sports, ”quotes the resolution of this world organization from 2019.
In March, the IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competitive practice under strict conditions of neutrality, without supporting the war or enlisting in the armed forces, leaving each international federation to decide how this would happen. it’s a return.
In the case of the IJF, “independent company background checks” have been made on all athletes who offer to compete in the World Championships, including social media postings, and only those who pass this verification will be able to compete in the World Championships. events.
“The IJF is an inclusive, values-based organization dedicated to promoting and defending judo as a peaceful way to respect human rights and promote international unity, friendship and peace,” the resolution says.
So far, judo has been one of the few Olympic sports that did not immediately follow the IOC’s 2022 recommendations regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, allowing them to compete under a neutral flag.
Ukraine has boycotted several competitions and already threatened to do the same at that year’s World Championships, prompting the IJF to back off and ban judokas from those countries until January of this year.
Now this question is being raised, which has already happened in archery, fencing, modern pentathlon, skateboarding, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon and wrestling, in contrast to athletics, badminton, basketball, equestrianism, rock climbing and surfing, which retained suspension .
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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