International Table Tennis Federation to admit Belarusians meeting requirements

March 30, BPN. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has agreed to admit Belarusian and Russian athletes to its competitions. The decision has been made by its executive board in line with the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations, the ITTF press office reported.

It emphasized that Belarusians and Russians would be able to compete “under strict conditions of neutrality.” But first, the ITTF would “consult with other international federations to create official guidelines that spell out explicit conditions of participation for players and support personnel with a Russian or Belarusian passport.”

Belarusians and Russians are expected to return to the competitions no earlier than May. They would also miss the world championship in South Africa, as they did not participate in the qualifiers.

The ITTF “reiterates its call for peace and unequivocally condemns the war in Ukraine.”

On March 28, the IOC’s executive board meeting in Lausanne resulted in a recommendation that international sports federations allow Belarusians and Russians to take part in international competitions.

But certain conditions must be met. Belarusian and Russian athletes are to compete as individual athletes under a neutral flag, and only if they aren’t actively involved in supporting military operations and aren’t contracted to the military.

The IOC recommendation doesn’t apply to teams. Nor does it apply to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics or the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. A decision on the Belarusians’ and Russians’ participation in these games would be made “at the appropriate time,” the committee said.

On March 29, the National Olympic Committee of Belarus voiced disagreement with the IOC’s recommendations, saying that some of them are outright discrimination.