International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach on Sunday praised the inaugural European Games for promoting harmony, even as tensions between host nation Azerbaijan and Armenia threatened to overshadow the sporting action.
In a statement, Bach praised the sight of Russian and Ukrainian athletes competing together despite the conflict in eastern Ukraine, saying: “We see Armenian athletes alongside their hosts from Azerbaijan... This is the power of sport to bring people together.”
Armenia sent athletes to the games despite a long-running conflict with the host nation, but they have been booed on many occasions by the home crowds, starting with Friday’s opening ceremony.
Photo: EPA
Sunday saw Armenian wrestler Migran Arutyunyan jeered as he lost the men’s 66kg Greco-Roman wrestling final to Russia’s Artyom Surkov. Despite expressing anger at the refereeing, Arutyunyan struck a conciliatory tone about his treatment from the crowd.
“I already came here in the mood. I already knew it would be like that,” he said. “Despite the fact that people were shouting and whistling, there are a lot of good people... I’m even sorry for them because they are people to me, we are all the same.”
On Saturday, Azerbaijani fans booed another Armenian wrestler and a Russian wrestler of Armenian heritage.
Photo: AFP
The crowd’s reaction should be seen as a manifestation of a sporting rivalry rather than political tension, said Azerbaijani wrestler Elvin Mursaliev, the gold medal winner in the men’s 75kg Greco-Roman event.
“They’re our competitors, and obviously no one in Azerbaijan, whether as an athlete or a spectator, would want to support one of the competitors of the Azerbaijani team,” he said through a translator.
Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory have been under the control of Armenian soldiers and local Armenian forces since a 1994 ceasefire that ended a six-year war. There have been clashes on the border on a number of occasions over the past year.
With Kosovo competing in their first major games under their own flag after becoming a full IOC member in December last year, Bach also said he was happy to see Serbs and Kosovans compete together.
Kosovo came close to winning their first medal Sunday, but their hopes were dashed as Alvin Karaqi lost his bronze-medal match in men’s karate.
Bach also had praise for Friday’s opening ceremony, which was estimated by Azerbaijani Minister of Sport Azad Rahimov to have cost 100 million manat (US$95 million), more than twice the cost of London’s Olympic ceremony in 2012.
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