Ukraine\u0027s Zelenskiy decries neutrality in sports at time of war
Zelenskiy said on Friday that Ukraine would launch an international campaign to keep Russia out of the 2024 summer games, which will be held in Paris.The war in Ukraine, now in its 12 month, has no end in sight, with Russia intensifying attacks on its neighbor in recent weeks. The Russian invasion has killed thousands, displaced millions and turn cities into rubble.Article content
“Ukrainian athletes are forced to defend the lives of their loved ones and the freedom of our people from Russian aggression,” Zelenskiy said. “Russian strikes took the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian men and women who could have brought their talents to world sports.” On Wednesday, the Olympic Council of Asia had offered Russian and Belarusian athletes the chance to compete in Asia, giving them a qualification pathway for the 2024 Olympics.On Saturday, Belarusian-born Aryna Sabalenka defeated Russia-born Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan to win the Australian Open, becoming the first player competing under a neutral flag to win a tennis grand slam.
“I think everyone still knows I’m a Belarusian player, and that’s it,” Sabalenka said flatly afterwards – holding a glass of champagne – when asked how it felt to win the tournament as a neutral player.
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