At the General Assembly of the Asian Olympic Council held last Saturday in Bangkok, at which Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah was elected the new president, it was decided by vote that up to 500 Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in the Asian Games in Hangzhou 2023, to be held between September 23 and October 8.
Despite the approval of the organizing body, the final decision will be left to the respective organization of each of the 32 Olympic sports in Paris 2024 that make up the Asian program. In fact, it is quite possible that there will be a scenario in which inclusion will be half inclusive, since each discipline will enjoy the autonomy and independence to make its own determination.
The premise that motivated this position of the OCA is that athletes from belligerent nations, who were unable to compete in the recent European Games, have a key instance in qualifying for the next Olympic Games. It remains to be seen if they will interfere in any way with the places allocated to Asian athletes.
In those sports in which participation is tolerated, the following restrictions will apply to them: they will be forced to compete only in individual events in neutral conditions, they will not be able to display any kind of national symbol and they will not be able to win medals. This was confirmed by Husain al-Musallam, director general of the OCA, who also warned that he will not invite leaders from those countries.
Along the same inclusive lines, in 2019, the Asian Olympic Council had already enabled the presence in Hangzhou of athletes from Oceanian nations in volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, football and fencing, disciplines qualifying for Paris 2024. Russia has 75% of its territory and 23% of its population located in Asia. Not so Belarus.
Although since the end of 2022 it has offered ample evidence that acceptance will be a fact, the International Olympic Committee has not yet given an exhaustive opinion on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in Paris 2024, nor has it stipulated a date to announce its decision.
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