Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from participating in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, according to a statement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
Following the two countries’ invasion of Ukraine, they are now facing international sanctions, including but not limited to their athletes not being able to participate in the Olympics. This decision was supported by 35 ministers from different countries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who relayed the sad news that 228 athletes and coaches died as a result of the war started by Russia.
“If there’s an Olympics sport with killings and missile strikes, you know which national team would take the first place,” he told the ministers. “Terror and Olympism are two opposites, they cannot be combined.”
This decision was also supported by Lucy Frazer, the British sports minister, who made her position clear on her X (formerly Twitter) account:
“I made the UK’s position very clear: As long as Putin continues his barbaric war, Russia and Belarus must not be represented at the Olympics,” she wrote.
But, last July, news broke that up to 500 Russian and Belarusian athletes may be allowed to compete in the Asian Games, with the aim of helping them qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The athletes, however, would have to first adhere to the conditions that the OCA and OIC will set, one is that they will compete under a neutral flag, and another is that any national symbols will be not be allowed. Lastly, the athletes would also be ineligible to claim any medals in the competitions.
Nonetheless as the decision to retract their participation came to light, the Asian Games will, after all, proceed without them. Without going into further detail, the OCA stated that the IOC had made the decision and that it had stated that the idea was “not feasible due to technical reasons.”
In a brief statement, the continental body (OCA) told The Indian Express that there won’t be any Russian or Belarusian athletes at the Asian Games, and that it was the decision of the IOC not that of the OCA:
“No Russian and Belarusian athletes (at the Asian Games) and it is IOC’s decision, not OCA.”
In addition, the IOC also released their own statement:
“The concept of the participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports at the Asian Games 2023 was explored as discussed at the Olympic Summit in December 2022, but was not feasible due to technical reasons.”