The International Judo Federation (IJF announced yesterday (Friday) that Russian athletes could compete again at the end of the month in the Mongolia Grand Slam as neutral athletes, in the first competition to be a score for the Paris Olympics in 2024, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The statement said: "This decision gives equal opportunity to all athletes, to overcome discrimination, politics, conflicts or any other matter unrelated to sport. Sport is an important social tool, a bridge to rebuilding a better community and society, at a global level."
IJF President Mr. Marius Wieser added: "Judo is a sport of education. It teaches values like respect, friendship, courage, mutual aid. Judo has always sought to avoid political interference or any form of discrimination, against athletes or any representatives Other Judo. "
"We see that athletes competing under the IJF flag, in a state of absolute neutrality, are not representatives of any country, and as such, competition in them does not violate any government decision concerning Russian or Belarusian athletes. We strongly believe that this neutral athlete's discrimination against human rights." .
The one who really did not like the decision, is the judoka Georgi Zantaria, who holds six medals from the world championships including one gold medal and holds four medals from the European championships (including 3 gold), who immediately put up an angry post that won thousands of likes and hundreds of shares.
"I have now seen on the official website of the International Judo Federation that athletes from Russia have registered to participate in the tournament at Allenbatter and will be able to participate in a neutral class," Zantaria said.
"I mention that I have already written that political issues can not be removed from sport, especially when it comes to war."
"If Russian athletes are allowed to participate in the tournament - I will officially give up all my titles and the world title. I am very sad that my beloved sports federation which has always emphasized values like peace, unity and friendship now passively supports the war in Ukraine. I will not stand aside, I want to "Everyone knew that while you were registering for the tournament - hundreds of people were dying every day in Ukraine, thousands more were living under daily shelling and explosions."
"I want to assure you that Ukraine will not participate in the tournament if Russian representatives are allowed even under the banner of the federation. It is important to me that the sport I do all my life and its main representatives were on Ukraine: the country where I grew up, lived, worked and ".
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