The Judo World Cup, between the boycott of Ukraine and the rejection to eight members of the Russian delegation

From May 7 to 13, the Judo World Cup will take place in Qatar and Ukraine will not be present, because it decided to boycott the competition due to the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus.

The International Judo Federation (FIJ) is one of the federations that decided to admit the presence of Russians and Belarusians in tournaments under the condition of neutrality and as long as they have not been in favor of the invasion of Ukraine, as recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On April 29, the FIJ confirmed that judokas from both countries would be able to be in Doha, and the answer was a boycott. “Most of the team are athletes who are active in the armed forces of the Russian Federation that attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and are still waging a brutal full-scale war on our territory. More than 250 Ukrainian athletes have given their lives defending the country, including representatives of judo.”

“We do not see neutrality, equal conditions or ‘a bridge to peace’ as stated in the FIJ resolution on the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams in the Doha World Cup... Rather, we see a decision that contradicts the latest recommendations of the International Olympic Committee of March 28, 2023, in which the IOC says that neutral athlete status can only be granted to those who are not in the military,” added the Federation.

After learning about the boycott, the International Judo Federation reported that it rejected the presence of eight members of the Russian delegation that intended to be at the World Cup in Qatar after carrying out “independent background checks on athletes and delegates to guarantee both their workplace and any interaction on social networks with respect to propaganda in favor of the war.”

“Only athletes employed at the Federal Sports Training Center of the teams representing Russia and athletes for whom no information was identified that suggests support or opinions about the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been approved to compete in the 2023 World Judo Championships and in the FIJ competitions,” said the International Federation.

So far, it is not known if those rejected are athletes, coaches or other members of the delegation. The Federation explained in the statement that “the decision was made in accordance with the FIJ’s rules, policies and fair play commitment” and at the same time stressed that “we strive to ensure that all athletes, regardless of nationality or background, have the opportunity to compete on equal terms, without discrimination.”

The Russians Yago Abuladze (world champion in Budapest 2021 in the category up to 60 kilos) and Tamerlan Bashaev (world runner-up and bronze medalist in Tokyo in the +100 kg) are some of those enrolled in the World Cup in Qatar, which due to the boycott will not have, among others, the Ukrainian Daria Bilodid, who described the FIJ decision as “unacceptable”.

“All those people who are going to participate in the World Championship are soldiers. It doesn’t make any sense, right? I think it is unacceptable to authorize soldiers from a terrorist country, which kills Ukrainians every day, to participate in international competitions,” said the world champion in Baku 2018 and Tokyo 2019 and bronze medalist in the last Olympic Games on her Instagram account.

Another voice that was raised is that of the coach of the Ukrainian judo team, Vitaliy Dybrova, who acknowledged: “We understood that such a situation could happen, but until the end we hoped that common sense would prevail. But no.”

“On the Russian list, almost all the athletes are related to the security forces or are members of the sports club or the Russian Guard. In addition, there are a lot of photos of them on the Internet in military uniform, taking pictures with (Russian Defense Minister Sergei) Shoigu receiving awards,” Dubrova said.

In addition to judo, other sports such as fencing, taekwondo, skateboarding, shooting, wrestling, table tennis and modern pentathlon also allowed the readmission of athletes from Russia and Belarus, while in others, such as tennis, they never stopped competing on the circuit as neutrals.