Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, who was controversially disqualified from the world championships for not shaking hands with a Russian opponent, defiantly insisted on Thursday: “We will never shake hands with them.”
Kharlan, 32, claimed she had been given the green light to snub Russian rival Anna Smirnova by the head of the sport’s federation despite the gesture being a key feature of post-bout rituals.
“My message today is that we Ukrainian athletes are ready to face Russians on the sports field but we will never shake hands with them,” the four-time world champion told several journalists, including a reporter from AFP.
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She claimed that Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the Greek president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), had even assured her that it was “possible” not to shake hands and offer a touch of her blade instead following her victory.
“I thought I had his word, to be safe, but apparently, no,” Kharlan said of Katsiadakis who succeeded Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov as head of the ruling body in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“This federation will never change. In any case, I don’t know if I will still be alive if that ends up happening.
“I hope the fencing world understands. Not just that something is wrong but that something has to be done to change it. Because guys today it’s me, tomorrow it could be you.” Kharlan’s disqualification is also set to rule her out of the team event at the world championships which double up as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, she insisted she has no regrets having won Olympic gold in the teams event in Beijing in 2008.
“All I know is that I really made the right choice,” she said. “There is something more important than medals — my country, my family. “My phone is going crazy. I’ve had support from so many people… from the government, from athletes, from celebrities and also from soldiers on the front lines.
“A guy who flies a helicopter told me he sent a video to tell me that he was proud of me. It brings me to tears because I am very grateful to them. And if they are proud of me, it’s because I did something that made me happy.”
Kharlan, the first athlete officially representing Ukraine to face a Russian or Belarusian opponent since Moscow’s invasion of her country in February 2022, opted against shaking the hand of Anna Smirnova.
Instead, she offered a touch of her blade after the bout at the tournament in Milan.
“The decision (to disqualify) is the manifestation of a complete lack of empathy, misunderstanding of the emotional context and is absolutely shameful,” Ukraine presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on social media.
Kharlan outclassed Smirnova and was cheered on by around 20 members of the Ukrainian delegation chanting ‘Slava Ukraini’ (’Glory to Ukraine’).
Smirnova, furious at the handshake snub as well as her defeat, refused to leave the arena and sat on a chair for an hour in protest.
The rules of the international federation (FIE) state that “the two fencers must shake hands once the result is given.” “My message today is that we Ukrainian athletes are ready to face Russians on the sports field but we will never shake hands with them,” four-time world champion Kharlan told several journalists, including a reporter from AFP.
She claimed that Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the Greek president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), had assured her that it was “possible” not to shake hands and offer a touch of her blade instead.
“I thought I had his word, to be safe, but apparently, no,” Kharlan said of Katsiadakis who succeeded Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov as head of the ruling body in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Ukrainian fencing federation demanded Kharlan be reinstated. “We have already submitted our protest to the Bureau of the International Fencing Federation,” the President of Ukraine’s Fencing Federation Mykhaylo Ilyashev told journalists.
– ‘Reinstate Kharlan’ – “We are waiting for the immediate consideration of this protest, so that this disqualification is cancelled and Olha can take part in team competitions.” Four-time sabre world champion Kharlan had told AFP in a recent interview that she would not shake hands with a Russian rival.
Kharlan, 32, had only been given the green light to compete at 0600GMT on Thursday, hours after the Ukraine sports ministry changed its previous policy of barring athletes from facing Russians or Belarusians competing as neutrals.
Under the new policy, Ukrainians cannot face athletes who “represent the Russian Federation and Belarus”.
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