Many athletes, coaches and judges in world fencing already recognize the stagnation of the sport without Russia’s participation, the head of the Russian Fencing Federation (FFR) told . Ilgar Mammadov .
Previously, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) suspended Russian athletes from participating in international competitions. The Russian national team this season missed both the European Championship and the World Championship. The selection for the 2024 Olympics in Paris will begin in the spring.
– Will it be a tragedy if our fencers are not admitted to the Olympic selection in April?
– I don’t want to think about evil, because thoughts materialize. Hopefully we will come back to international sports. The FIE has its own currents, its own negotiation process, its own confidential subjects. In order not to put anyone in a difficult position, I do not communicate with them either by correspondence or by telephone. As soon as there is a decision, we will see and hear it officially. It is clear that in April we will be at the bottom of the international ranking, we will not have any points. But it is the reality of our life. There’s no time for grease: if only they gave it back. Let it be difficult, but it will be, it will not happen at all and we will stay at home,” Mammadov told a correspondent.
— Is it possible to say that world fencing as a sport is stagnating, stagnating because of all these political things?
“Of course it is. And those are not our words either: there is a reaction from coaches, athletes, judges from completely different countries. They all admit that there is a level of completely different perception of victories, a different level of competition at the last European and World Championships. This is especially pronounced in women’s saber, as well as in men’s and women’s rapier. These three species lost a lot without the Russians. And, of course, there is the financial aspect. If previous athletes received prizes from the Usmanov trust fund for prizes, now this money is gone. Naturally, few people are happy about this, you quickly get used to the The judges are also complaining: before, the best in each type of weapon received an additional bonus from the FIE, now these payments have been reduced by three and they still have not received this money.
Source : MatchTV
