The epee fencer Igor Reyzlin from Ukraine announced for the World Championship in fencing in Milan, but withdrew from the fight against the Russian Vadim Anokhin in the 1/32 finals. A strange decision, which, probably, was not made by the Ukrainian fencer himself.
Top Russians were not allowed, but Poland was punishedFencing is one of the first disciplines where Russian athletes were allowed to participate in international competitions. This happened in April 2023, shortly after the statements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which recommended that the federations not discriminate against Russians and Belarusians on the basis of nationality. The International Fencing Federation (FIE) listened to the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, and opened the door to our athletes.
However, everything turned out to be much more complicated. The FIE arranged a selection on the principle of «good-bad Russian» and did not allow a number of famous athletes to compete, including Olympic champions Yana Yegoryan, Sofia Pozdnyakova and Sofia Velikaya. At some point, it seemed that the Russian Fencing Federation (FFR) would decide to completely abandon participation in competitions. This, in particular, was repeatedly hinted at by the head of the organization, Ilgar Mammadov.
However, such a radical approach was still not chosen, as a result of which individual Russian athletes were able to seize the chance. It is curious that the FIE not only built obstacles to the Russians, but also at some points acted in our defense. In particular, the International Fencing Federation has deprived the tournament of the European Games in Poland of the status of the European Championship due to the refusal to issue visas to Russians. Polyakov criticized even Thomas Bach for such a position.
Ukraine only made things worse for itself As a result, seven representatives of the Russian team went to the World Cup in Milan. These are Yana Bekmurzova and Polina Khaertdinova (both epee), Alena Lisina, Anna Smirnova (both saber), Leyla Pirieva (foil) and epee fencers Vadim Anokhin and Artem Sargsyan. Also, Belarusian Marianna Marusenko (epee) entered the tournament.
Surprisingly, Ukrainian fencers and fencers showed up for competitions in Italy, although this contradicted the requirements of the country's government, which forbade Ukrainians to take part in those tournaments where there are Russians or Belarusians. President of the Fencing Federation of Ukraine Mikhail Ilyashev immediately indicated that his wards would not take part in the disciplines of the World Championship in Milan, in which Russians and Belarusians would be represented. was supposed to fight today against our Vadim Anokhin in the 1/32 finals of the World Championship. The Russian athlete entered the track, as it should be before the start of the competition, but his opponent did not appear there. As a result, Anokhin automatically made it to the next round of the world championship and will try to take medals.
There is a suspicion that Reislin simply became a victim of the policy of the leadership of Ukrainian sports, and refusing to fight Anokhin would hardly be his decision alone. At the same time, money was spent on a trip to Milan, housing in Italy and other expenses. It is doubtful that the Ukrainian sports budget is so rubbery that it allows them to scatter finances right and left. Although what you will not do in order to annoy Russia. You can even freeze your ears.