GENEVA – Russia’s gymnastics and wrestling federations said on Tuesday they had been invited to take part in the 2023 Asian Games, a move that could potentially pave the way for their athletes to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in January that athletes from Russia and Belarus, barred from competing in European qualifiers due to the invasion of Ukraine, might be allowed to earn slots for the 2024 Games through Asian qualifying.

Should they qualify, they would compete in Paris as neutral athletes, without their flag or anthem.

The move has prompted calls by several countries to have Russian and Belarusian athletes excluded from the 2024 global sporting showpiece.

“We received an invitation to take part in the Asian Games,” Vasily Titov, head of the Russian gymnastics federation, told Match TV.

“We will reply that we are interested, and then they will come up with conditions for our participation.”

In separate comments to the same channel, Mikhail Mamiashvili, president of Russia’s wrestling federation, said it had also received an invitation.

“We answered that we are ready to participate according to the set rules,” he said.

Organisers of the Asian Games – scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from Sept 23 to Oct 8 – did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Russian Under-17 women’s team are also set to participate in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship scheduled for Dhaka, Bangladesh in March, as Russian sports bodies begin to receive invitations to take part in Asian competitions.

Ukraine, which has pledged to launch a campaign against Russia’s participation at the 2024 Games, has threatened to boycott the Olympics should athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed to compete. 

On Monday, Olha Saladukha, one of Ukraine’s most high-profile former athletes, said that IOC president Thomas Bach should learn from history when it comes to his move to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris.

She said that Bach was “an intelligent person” and he should see the historic parallels between World War II – which started in 1939 – and now.

“Let’s remember what happened after the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where Hitler posed?” said the three-time European and 2011 world triple jump champion, now a lawmaker in the Ukrainian parliament.

“After the (Winter) Olympic Games in Sochi 2014, the war in Ukraine began.

“Even after the World War II, Germany was alienated from the Games (they were not invited to the 1948 Olympics).

“After this evil, it was difficult for the world to behave otherwise.

“We see the same thing here, especially since the war is still going on!

“A murderous state, where the people, including athletes, support crimes, should be out of sports.”

Saladukha added that even under a neutral flag, athletes from the two countries should not be allowed in Paris.

“The war continues, and people die and cities are destroyed every day,” she said.

“And what do we see in Russia? Hundreds of professional athletes expressed their support for the war with Ukraine. But we did not hear that anyone spoke against the war.

“Tell me, under such conditions, is it honest and fair to allow Russians to compete even under a neutral flag?”

Another Ukrainian sportsperson, karate Olympic bronze medallist Stanislav Horuna, said that Bach’s belief that “no athlete should be prevented from competing because of their passports” is inappropriate.

“(His) statement is right in peace time, but it doesn’t suit the situation we have,” he said.

Saladukha, Horuna and Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling champion Zhan Beleniuk – who is also a member of parliament – hope political pressure from governments will force the IOC to back down.

Otherwise, they warn, a boycott may be necessary. REUTERS, AFP