Russia opts not to send any judokas to Paris Olympics

29/6/2024 7:17

        Russia will not be sending any participants to the Paris Olympics after only four of its 17 judokas received permission from the International Olympic Committee to compete, the country's judo federation said on Friday.
        
        Russia and Belarus have been barred from sending national teams to the Games more than two years after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, Russia's closest ally, allowed its territory to be used to carry out the invasion.
        
        A number of athletes from the two countries are being allowed to participate in Paris as individual neutral athletes (AINs) without their flags, anthems and emblems, subject to vetting by the IOC to ensure they have no connection to the military.
        
        The Russian judo federation, in a statement on its website, said it could not accept the IOC ruling.
        
        "Until the very end, we had hoped that common sense and a desire to hold full-fledged Olympic Games with athletes from Russia and Belarus would prevail over political intrigues," the statement said.