Ukrainian fencer reinstated after refusing to shake hands with Russian counterpart

 MILAN - - The International Fencing Federation has reinstated Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan after she refused to shake hands with her Russian rival, Anna Smirnova, at the Fencing World Championships.

 Following the Kiev government's stance and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi's request for clarification on Kharlan’s case, the Ukrainian champion has been readmitted to the Fencing World Championships currently underway in Milan.

 Kharlan had been excluded from the sabre draw at the Fencing World Championships.

 The International Federation considered the Kiev athlete's refusal to shake hands with her opponent at the end of their first-round match as non-compliant with protocol. 

 Kharlan, after winning the fight, had limited herself to just a touch with her sabre. 

 The Ukrainian was due to take to the piste at 12.55 p.m. on Thursday against Bulgaria's Yoana Ilieva, who was instead promoted ex officio to the round of 16.

 At the end of the fight, which ended 15-7 to Kharlan, the Ukrainian did not return the salute with her hand, but only held out her sabre. Consequently, Kharlan was disqualified from the event.

 Smirnova did not accept her rival's behaviour and remained stationary on the piste for a long time, with Russia filing an appeal, demanding compliance with the rules. 

 In the end came the black card for the Ukrainian, who also lost her chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics before the new U-turn by the Federation. 

 Kharlan, however, made a different decision to her colleague and compatriot Igor Reizlin, who deserted the first-round challenge against Russia's Vadim Anokhin on Wednesday. 

 This is, according to Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, the will of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, which asked its athletes not to compete against Russians and Belarusians.

 “Devoid of empathy” and “absolutely shameful.” This is how, on Instagram, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak denounced the International Fencing Federation's decision to disqualify the Ukrainian athlete. 

 "Olga Kharlan, thank you for worthily representing Ukraine at the Fencing World Championships," Podolyak added. 

 On Twitter, the Ukrainian presidential advisor spread a photo of Smirnova making the victory sign wearing a Russian military fur hat. 

 "As you can see she openly admires the Russian army, which kills Ukrainians and destroys our cities," Podolyak points out. He then asked the Fencing Federation if “Russian money doesn't stink of blood.”

 As reported by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, it was the Federation itself that decided this, and now Kharlan will be able to compete in the team event at the World Championships, which is decisive for qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

 The Ukrainian athlete was acknowledged to have acted in good faith in the incident. 

 Kharlan had used her sabre to dismiss the Russian according to the Covid protocol still in force at the start of the World Championships. 

 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had also intervened in support of the Ukrainian athletes, asking for understanding for their stance on the issue of war.

 It was the IOC's stance that triggered the controversy with the Russian Olympic Committee. 

 On Friday, the Russian Olympic Committee accused the IOC of “duplicity” in a statement, reports Il Fatto Quotidiano.

 According to the President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov, “the statement in question indicates that the IOC has chosen a position in the political conflict, starting to act in the interest of one side.”

 The Russian sports number one remarked that the IOC's statement “clearly showed the duplicity of the so-called recommendations, criteria and parameters.”

 "Olympism is officially being made an externally-controlled tool in the interests of a geopolitical order to neutralise our citizens and our sports organisations," concluded Pozdnyakov, who is also a former fencer.