MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russian badminton players are still not cleared to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as none of them have received permission to compete as neutrals in the upcoming event, the press office of the National Badminton Federation of Russia (NBFR) said in a statement on Monday.

"None of our Russian badminton players has been granted a neutral status and this is why we are being left out of all international tournaments," a spokesman for the NBFR told TASS. "We continue to follow the developments of the current situation and a lot will depend on the decisions of the [2024] BWF Annual General Meeting in late April."

The 2024 BWF Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place in Chengdu, China on April 27.

"Russia’s national badminton team is currently training in China. This season’s big events for the national squad will be the [2024 BRICS Games] and the [2024] World Friendship Games," the statement added.

Paris, known as the "City of Light," is scheduled to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games between July 26 and August 11, 2024.

Russian athletes’ suspension with BWF

In early March 2022, the Badminton World Federation suspended athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the federation’s tournaments citing Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

On April 20, 2023, the BWF Council ruled to extend indefinitely its suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events. However, in late August of that year, the BWF allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international events under a neutral status starting from February 26, 2024.

2024 BRICS Games

The 2024 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Games will be hosted by the Russian city of Kazan between June 12 and 23 and will feature events in 25 different sports.

In mid-May, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to submit proposals for organizing and holding the 2024 BRICS Games in Russia.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin emphasized earlier that the BRICS Games are not meant to rival any other competitions and will not interfere with the international sports calendar.

2024 World Friendship Games

The 2024 World Friendship Games are scheduled to be hosted by the Russian capital of Moscow and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg next year between September 15 and 29.

In December 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cautioned National Olympic Committees (NOCs) against participating in the World Friendship Games in Russia next year, as this would violate the global Olympic body’s recommendations.