Ukraine boycotts World Boxing Championship due to participation of Russia and Belarus
The national boxing team of Ukraine will not compete at the world championships among women and men in 2023 due to the admission to the competition of athletes from Russia and Belarus, who must participate under their flags.
Source: Suspilne national broadcaster citing Oleh Ilchenko, Vice President of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine
Quote: "Our answer is clear: our athletes and representatives of the boxing federation of Ukraine do not perform where the representatives of the aggressor countries will perform; these are Russia and Belarus."
Details: Thus, Ukraine joined nine countries that have already announced a boycott of the championship. Among them are the USA, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Canada.
In addition, the vice president of the boxing federation of Ukraine stated that the national team will boycott the 2024 Olympics if boxers from Russia or Belarus participate there.
As Suspilne reports, the main tournament for the Ukrainian boxing team will be the European Games, which will be held in June in Poland; there will be no boxers from the Russian Federation and Belarus. There will also be a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Olympics.
Background:
- In October 2022, the IBA announced that it would return athletes from Russia and Belarus to the competition because it maintains "political neutrality".
- The sanctions were implemented in response to a full-scale war against Ukraine. They consisted in not allowing representatives of the national teams of Russia and Belarus to compete. In July, Ukraine called on international partners to ban Russians and Belarusians from participating in sports competitions, even under neutral flags. However, in September, Umar Kremlev, the president of the IBA, called for the sanctions to be lifted.
- At the end of September, the IBA banned Ukrainian boxers from competing under the national flag at the European Junior Championship. They were to compete under the IBA banner.
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