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World Taekwondo grants neutral status to 14 Russian fighters ahead of championship in Baku

The 2023 World Taekwondo Championship is scheduled to be held in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, between May 29 and June 6

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The world’s governing body for taekwondo, World Taekwondo (WT) has cleared 14 athletes from Russia for their participation in the 2023 World Taekwondo Championship in Azerbaijan, the InsideTheGames sports web portal reported on Tuesday.

"A group of 23 Individual Neutral Athletes have been provisionally approved - 14 with Russian and nine with Belarusian passports - with their participation subject to signing a declaration committing to fully respecting the conditions of participation in Baku," according to the InsideTheGames.

In early April, World Taekwondo (WT), ruled to permit athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate under a neutral status in tournaments authorized by the organization.

The 2023 World Taekwondo Championship is scheduled to be held in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, between May 29 and June 6.

In March 2022, World Taekwondo suspended all athletes representing Russia and Belarus from international tournaments authorized by the international organization.

The decision followed recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on February 28, 2022 to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international events, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

On March 28, 2023, the IOC recommended 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. Athletes also should not be supporters of the special military operation or be affiliated with the armed forces or national security agencies.

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