KRASNODAR, March 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his belief that major global sports tournaments stand to lose a lot by barring Russian athletes from competing.

Putin on Thursday visited a newly built athletic center focused on the sport of wrestling and the uniquely Russian martial art of Sambo (from the Russian term "samozashchita bez oruzhiya," or weaponless self-defense) in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar.

One of Putin’s interlocutors during his visit said that, "without Russia’s participation at the [upcoming 2024] Olympics, they will not be the Olympic Games, just like the World Cup, the European Championship tournaments, because they will be turned into local competitions while Russian athletes still hold the best positions in the world."

Putin replied: "This is true; I completely agree with you."

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be hosted by the French capital of Paris between July 26 and August 11.

Sambo wrestling

Sambo wrestling originated in Russia in the 1920s, when soldiers of the then-Soviet Army developed their own hand-to-hand combat technique. The word Sambo is a Russian acronym, which stands for "self-defense without weapons."

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in 2016, speaking about Sambo wrestling and its global perspectives, that the Russia-originated wrestling sport should be included in the Olympic program, but this would require a lengthy approval process.

IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.

On July 26, 2023, the IOC extended invitations to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris to 203 National Olympic Committees. Russia and Belarus did not receive invitations. The IOC explained later that there was no deadline regarding the issue of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation.