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Olympic Council of Asia’s Athletes Forum back IOC’s recommendations on Russian athletes

The 2023 Asian Games are scheduled to be held in China’s Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8 this year

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/. Athletes Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) expressed its strong support for the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) proposal to return athletes from Russia and Belarus to the international arena, but only under a neutral status, OCA’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

"The OCA Athletes’ Forum participants discussed the Olympic values and the principles of non-discrimination, with strong support that athletes should have access to sport and competition without any form of discrimination," the statement reads.

The posted document from the OCA reads that: "Regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, OCA AC [Athletes Commission] and Asian athlete representatives had recommended that their re-introduction to international competition should come with clear conditions."

The stipulated conditions state that "participation should be as strictly neutral athletes, meaning no flag or national symbols," while "there should be no Russian or Belarusian government officials present," and "the athletes should compete clean, complying with all applicable anti-doping regulations."

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on January 26 that the organization had decided to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in sports events in Asia as well as in the Asian Games, subject to IOC conditions.

The 2023 Asian Games are scheduled to be held in China’s Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8 this year. The event was initially scheduled to be held last year at the same venue, but was postponed to a later date due to the COVID-19 situation and its possible spread among people traveling to mainland China.

At its session on January 25, the IOC Executive Board put forward a proposal to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Athletes from the countries in question should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status.

The IOC recommended on Tuesday that international federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral status, while they would not be able to take part in team events. Another condition is that the athletes should not be supporters of the special military operation or be affiliated with the armed forces or national security agencies.

President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov called these recommendations absolutely unacceptable as they would lead to a split in Russian sports.

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