Picture Credit: Twitter
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on April 18 (Tuesday) announced that it would be extending the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. The Federation first banned them in March last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with Belarus as its ally. Even though the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended to lift the ban and allow the athletes to participate as neutrals if they don’t support the war or were not affiliated with the military last month, the BWF seem ‘not convinced’ by this gesture.
The BWF admitted that geopolitics should not be mixed with sports and it should be independent of the political situation in the country. The Federation after its council meeting on Tuesday said, “BWF acknowledges that sport should foster peace and solidarity between all people and that sport should not become a political vehicle for influence in geopolitics. In that sense, the guiding principle is that athletes should always be allowed to participate in sports competitions without judgment of their passport and separate from any geo-political conflict outside the control of the sports movement.”
“BWF is not convinced that there is satisfactory justification to lift the suspensions on Russian and Belarusian players and officials at this time,” their statement further read.
This decision is said to complicate the qualification of the Russian and Belarusian athletes for the upcoming Paris Olympics. The ranking lists as of 30 April 2024 will be used to determine the initial list of qualifiers for the marquee event. However, the BWF also awaits a clear stand from the IOC for its criteria of qualification.
