Korean Curling Also Boycotts Russia... "No Participation Against Russia in Women's World Championship"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Korean curling has announced a boycott of all matches against Russia.

The Korea Curling Federation stated in a press release on the 1st, "We express serious concern regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine," and "All teams and players affiliated with the Korea Curling Federation have decided to boycott all matches against Russia."

The federation added, "This is to respond jointly with international sports organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Curling Federation (WCF)."

Korean curling will not participate in any friendly or practice matches against Russia. They plan to boycott scheduled matches against Russia at the men's, women's, and mixed doubles World Championships held this month and next month.

Korea and Russia will both participate in all three tournaments. The women's national team, 'Team Kim,' plans to boycott the match against Russia at the Women's Curling World Championship held in Prince George, Canada, on the 20th of this month. The men's national team, Gyeongbuk Sports Council, will forfeit the match against Russia at the Men's Curling World Championship held in Las Vegas, USA, on the 5th of next month. They also plan to boycott any match against Russia at the Mixed Doubles World Championship scheduled from April 23 to 30 in Geneva, Switzerland, if the draw pairs them together.

Kim Yong-bin, president of the Korea Curling Federation, explained, "The World Curling Federation is preparing measures to restrict the participation of Russian players in the World Championships," and added, "The Korea Curling Federation has issued a statement as the first Korean sports organization to join the policies of the IOC and various international sports bodies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.