The Judo Federation of Ukraine announced on Monday that it will not send a delegation to the World Judo Championship in Qatar, which will be held from May 7 to 14, due to the presence of Russian and Belarusian judokas, reports AFP.

The Ukrainian federation says that some of these judokas are also active military.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) on Sunday gave the green light to Russians and Belarusians to compete in the world championships, provided they do so individually and as neutral athletes.

But the Ukrainian federation said on Monday that “the majority of the Russian national team consists of athletes who are active soldiers of the army of the Russian Federation, which attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022” and “continue to wage a brutal war against our territory.” .”

“More than 250 Ukrainian athletes gave their lives defending the country, including judokas,” the Ukrainian federation said, adding: “We see neither neutrality, nor equal treatment, nor a “bridge to peace,” as they say in their international federation. resolution on the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the World Cup in Doha.

“In addition, we believe that this decision contradicts the latest recommendations of the International Olympic Committee of March 28, 2023, which state that the status of a neutral athlete can only be granted to non-military personnel,” the Ukrainian federation added.

Ukrainian judoka Daria Bilodid called the decision of the IJF “unacceptable”.

“All these people who will participate in the world championships are military. It doesn’t make sense, does it?” the 2019 world champion in the category up to 48 kilograms and the bronze medalist of the Tokyo Olympics wrote on Instagram.

“I consider it unacceptable to allow military personnel from a terrorist country, which kills Ukrainians every day, to participate in international competitions,” she said.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said at the end of March that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to “compete as neutral individual athletes” provided they “do not actively support the war in Ukraine” and are not “under contract” to the military or security forces of the two countries. countries

However, the IOC has not yet made a decision regarding the participation of representatives of these two countries in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

On the same topic:

• Another federation restored the status of Russian and Belarusian athletes “who do not support actions against Ukraine”