MOSCOW, Apr 20 The BWF has chosen the worst decision on the issue of allowing Russians and Belarusians to participate in international tournaments, accompanied by a very confused position, mixing together the inadmissibility of the politicization of sports and the removal of Russians and Belarusians only for political reasons, the press service of the National Badminton Federation of Russia (NFBR) reported.
On Thursday, the BWF maintained a ban on the participation of Russians and Belarusians in international tournaments, including qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
““The decision of the Council of the World Badminton Federation (BWF) to extend the suspension of athletes from Russia from competitions was negatively perceived in the National Badminton Federation of Russia. We believe that this position of a number of countries, which to some extent turned out to be convenient for the world federation. Indeed, difficult questions arose , for example, in the form of selection for the Olympic Games. The selection is rating, the ratings of Russians after a year of inactivity are zero. Any decision was not ideal. Apparently, they decided to choose the worst, accompanying it with a very confused position, mixing together the inadmissibility of the politicization of sports and the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians only politically motivated,» the statement said.
“We, of course, as before, support the position of our Olympic Committee on the inadmissibility of such actions and will defend the line “sport is out of politics”, since any other position violates all the fundamental principles of sports and Olympism,” the statement added.
Earlier, the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international federations allow Russians who did not support the special operation as neutral athletes to start. At the same time, the organization proposes not to allow athletes associated with the armed forces or security agencies to compete.
Following the recommendations of the IOC, the decision to admit athletes in a neutral status was made by the World Taekwondo Federation (World Taekwondo) and the United World Wrestling (UWW). The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the International Triathlon Federation (World Triathlon) and the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) also announced their readiness to return the Russians to international competitions. The Bureau of the International Swimming Federation (World Aquatics) announced the creation of a working group to study the possibilities of participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes in tournaments.