Russian boxers don’t want to go to the Olympics without a flag and anthem, Umar Kremlev, Secretary-General of the Russian Boxing Federation said. According to him, WADA’s decision is stupid and incomprehensible; those responsible should be punished, sports and the country have nothing to do with it.
“Our athletes say they’re going there not for the Olympics and medals; they are going there to win, for the Russian national anthem to play and the Russian flag to be raised. If they want to go, I will support their participation. WADA’s decision is stupid and incomprehensible; what do all sports and the country have to do with it? The leaders of our federation are to blame for this decision because we don’t have our own representative in WADA and the IOC. While there are no representatives, there will be other decisions as well. Russia has always been envied. There is no task to punish athletes; there is a task to say that the country is to blame and to accuse the leadership”, Umar Kremlev said.
RUSADA faced a non-compliance procedure earlier this year amid ostensible data interference. WADA later concluded that some of the data had likely been “altered”.
Most recently, WADA’s Compliance Review Committee recommended to the Executive Committee several punitive measures against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), saying that Russia should not have the right to host any editions of major sports events for four years.