Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday had his honorary black belt in taekwondo revoked by the sport’s international governing body over his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
As Russian troops amass outside Kyiv, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees flee into neighboring countries, world leaders have heaped punishing economic sanctions on Putin and his closest allies, as well as businesses with links to Russia.
The sporting world has had a similar reaction: Russia was booted out of qualifying for this year’s FIFA World Cup, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged federations to exclude athletes from Russia, as well as from its ally Belarus.
Photo:AP
The World Taekwondo Federation said that Moscow’s actions went against the sport’s vision: “Peace is more precious than triumph.”
“In this regard, World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Mr Vladimir Putin in November 2013,” the Seoul-based body said in an official statement.
It added that official taekwondo events would not be organized in Russia or Belarus.
In line with the IOC’s urging, the flags and anthems of the two countries would not be displayed or played at taekwondo events around the world.
“World Taekwondo’s thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and we hope for a peaceful and immediate end to this war,” it said.
Putin does not actually do taekwondo, but is instead accomplished in judo, another martial art, and has long served as an honorary president to the International Judo Federation.
On Sunday, the IJF suspended his status as honorary president and ambassador to the sport.
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