"Why Participate in a Murderous State?" Ukrainian Judo Athlete Withdraws

Opposition to Allowing Russian Athletes to Compete
"Violation of IOC Guidelines" Criticized

Ukraine has withdrawn from the World Judo Championships held in Doha, Qatar, from the 7th to the 14th (local time), after Russian athletes were allowed to participate, according to reports from BBC and other foreign media on the 1st.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) permitted Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag at this event.

Daria Bilodid, the 2019 World Judo Championships women's 48kg champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist from Ukraine, stated on her Instagram, "I cannot tolerate allowing soldiers from a terrorist state that kills Ukrainians every day to participate in an international competition."

Ukrainian judo athlete Daria Bilodid [Photo by Instagram]

The Ukrainian Judo Federation also issued a statement that day, saying, "The majority of the Russian team members are active-duty soldiers," and added, "The Russian military continues to wage a brutal full-scale war on our territory, shelling our cities and homes daily, killing civilians and children."

The Ukrainian federation pointed out that this decision violates the new guidelines announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on March 28 regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics by sport.

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine invasion in February last year, Russian and Belarusian athletes, whose countries aided the invasion, have faced sanctions in various sports.

Ukrainian judo star athlete Daria Bilodid.
Photo by Yonhap News

However, as the Ukraine war has continued for over a year, the IOC stated that discriminating against athletes based on nationality contradicts the Olympic spirit, allowing athletes from the two countries to participate in the Paris Olympic qualifiers as individuals under a neutral flag rather than as representatives of their countries.

However, the athletes from both countries must not support Russia's invasion of Ukraine and must have no military affiliation.

Meanwhile, the IOC's decision has ignored the strong demands from the United States and Ukraine, the parties to the conflict, to exclude the two countries from the Olympics, and Ukraine has hinted at the possibility of boycotting the Paris Olympics next year.

The Russian government also strongly opposed the IOC's guidelines, claiming they contain discriminatory elements.

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