Federation officials said Russian and Belarusian tennis players would be allowed to return to competition “under strict conditions of neutrality” from May after a year-long ban. However, they will not start at the individual world championships in Durban, South Africa from May 20, because they did not qualify for it due to their absence from the events.
The ITTF said in a statement that it unequivocally condemns the war in Ukraine and intends to continue to support the Ukrainian table tennis community as much as possible. Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete based on the guidelines published by the IOC on Tuesday. Among others, members of the military of these countries and teams will be prohibited from participating.
The ITTF also justified its decision with an example of so-called ping pong diplomacy, when American table tennis players traveled to China for a series of exhibition matches in 1971, which helped to ease relations between the two superpowers during the Cold War.
Photo: @tibhar_japan, Twitter
The legendary table tennis player Vladimir Samsonov from Belarus has decided to end his career due to health problems.Photo: @tibhar_japan, Twitter
“Table tennis has a long history of bringing people together in times of strained political relations. It can build bridges that lead to better understanding between people and open the door to peace building in ways that exclusion and division cannot,” the ITTF said.
Table tennis is the first sport to agree to the return of Russians and Belarusians following the IOC’s recommendation on Tuesday. The representatives of judo and fencing decided on this earlier this year, but athletes from these countries have not yet started at their events. Boxing IBA led by Russian Umar Kremlev took this step already last October. Tennis and cycling allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in individual competitions, not at the level of national teams.
