Having taken a completely opposite position in April, the International Badminton Federation announced on Wednesday the decision to re-admit Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Russian and Belarusian athletes resumed participation in badminton competitions from 2024

Their reintegration into the competition will be done under a neutral flag and with an individual title starting in 2024, AFP reported.

This position corresponds to the spring recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the reintegration of Russians and Belarusians into world sports.

In March, the IOC recommended reintegrating athletes from Russia and Belarus at international competitions under a neutral flag and with an individual title for athletes who did not support the war in Ukraine.

“The International Badminton Federation confirms that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate as neutral athletes in tournaments starting on February 26, 2024,” the statement said.

In April, the federation took the opposite position, questioning the “clarity of the IOC’s complex criteria for permission to participate” of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

After the IOC’s position, with the exception of the International Federation of Athletics and Swimming, several international federations did so with different calendars (fencing, gymnastics, archery, judo, climbing), and since then qualification for the Games has started at the Olympics.

For badminton, the reintegration process will begin in September, after which selected players will undergo “robust anti-doping control” that will pave the way for their return in early 2024, the international federation said.

As for the Paris Olympics, the IOC said last month that it will make a decision on the possible participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes whenever it wants, “without being tied to the results of previous qualification tests at the Olympic Games,” Agerpres writes.