Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, who had been disqualified from the World Championships in Milan for not shaking hands with Russian opponent Anna Smirnova, has been readmitted to the tournament. On Thursday, at the end of the saber competition between the two fencers, Smirnova had occupied one of the competition platforms for almost an hour, as a protest for not being greeted by Kharlan, as required by fencing practice. Kharlan, who had won the competition, had not shaken her hand, but she had merely handed her the saber: a gesture for which she had obtained a disqualification from the International Fencing Federation (FIE), which had caused widespread controversy.
Kharlan told Sky Sport to have informed the FIE the day before the race of its intention not to shake hands with the Russian opponent, but only to offer her the saber (as was done during the pandemic) for personal reasons, linked to the implications of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Kharlan had therefore asked the FIE not to be sanctioned, and according to her the FIE had reassured her to that effect. In a second moment, however, the federation had disqualified her anyway. The FIE’s decision was deemed too hasty, conditioned by Russian influences and more generally by the weight that Russia has in fencing, a sport in which it is one of the most successful countries with the greatest tradition.
2023-07-28 15:55:01
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