World Taekwondo Ready To Lift Ban On Russian, Belarusian Athletes On IOC Notice - Chief

World Taekwondo (WT) can lift its ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions in April, if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes such recommendation, WT President Choue Chung-won said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2023) World Taekwondo (WT) can lift its ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions in April, if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes such recommendation, WT President Choue Chung-won said on Thursday.

"The IOC will have more specific discussions on the issue at the Executive Committee meeting at the end of March. Depending on the results, we will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in WT competitions starting in April," Choue was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying.

The WT head spoke out against the participation of Russia and Belarus in the 2023 Asian Games that will take place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8, contrary to the decision of the Olympic Council of Asia to invite the athletes.

"I don't think other Asian countries would want this and the WT is also against this. If athletes from the two countries who need world ranking points can participate in WT events, then they won't have to go to the Asian Games," Yonhap quoted the WT president as saying.

Many international sports organizations have banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in their competitions in response to Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine and Minsk's support for it. The IOC issued in late February 2022 a recommendation to the International Sports Federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions in response to the special military operation in Ukraine.