Amidst the World Judo Championships to be held in Qatar this month, Ukrainian athletes have announced their intention to withdraw. This is because the International Judo Federation (IJF), which hosts the tournament, has allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as members of neutral countries.
According to Reuters on the 1st (local time), the Ukrainian Judo Federation announced that Ukrainian judoka will not participate in the World Judo Championships, which will be held from the 7th to the 14th in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The IJF allowed Russian and Belarusian players to compete as neutral countries, but this decision is unacceptable.
This IJF decision appears to be in line with the guidelines for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifications presented on March 28 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). At the time, the IOC allowed athletes from both countries to participate in the qualifying games for the Olympic Games in Paris as individuals and neutral countries, not as national representatives. However, this was subject to the condition that he did not support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and had nothing to do with the military.
The Ukrainian Judo Federation said in a statement that day, “The majority of the Russian national team are active duty soldiers.” “The IJF made a decision contrary to the recent recommendation of the IOC. Therefore, I have decided not to participate in the World Championships in Doha.”
The famous Ukrainian judoka Daria Bilodid also raised her voice of criticism. Bilodid won the women’s 48kg champion at the 2019 World Judo Championships and bronze medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “Russian athletes are participating in the World Judo Championships,” Bilodid said on Instagram. “It is unacceptable that athletes from terrorist countries that kill Ukrainians every day take part in international competitions.” He said, “This goes against the values of sport.”
The IJF and the Russian Judo Federation have yet to make any statements on the statement of the Ukrainian Judo Federation.
Meanwhile, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, athletes from Russia and Belarus, a helper country, were banned from several international competitions. Afterwards, as the war lasted more than a year, the IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Olympic qualifying games as individuals and as members of a neutral country, saying that discriminating against athletes on the basis of nationality was against the purpose the Olympic Games. Regarding this, IOC President Thomas Bach said, “It is effective for athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate in international competitions.
