Moments of tension at the Fencing World Championships in Milan: the Russian blocked the platform for 45 minutes
The Ukrainian Olga Kharlan, reigning fencing world champion, was disqualified in the first round match at the world championships in Milan she had refused to squeeze the hand to the Russian Anna Smirnova, offering her only the weapon. The decision came after Smirnova’s protest, beaten on the platform 15-7, but who for over an hour had prevented the dispute of other matches by staging a protest on the platform and asking for the opponent’s disqualification as per the regulation. At the end of the match, the referee had awarded Kharlan the victory, but the judges, an hour and a half after the end of the match, were forced to review the video and disqualify the Ukrainian athlete for violating article 122 of the international fencing code of conduct.
According to the regulation, when the Russian reached out her hand to her opponent she could not refuse to shake it and hence the decision to disqualify her (although homologating the result on the platform). Consequently, in the second round she ahead of Bulgarian Ylieva who should have faced Kharlan. Kharlan’s exclusion from the individual saber competition should also lead to the exclusion of the entire Ukraine team from the team competition, as per the regulation. We are now awaiting the official announcement from the International Federation, with the start of the women’s team tournament scheduled for Saturday. (LaPresse)
July 27, 2023 – Updated July 27, 2023, 3:28 pm
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