Ajub Blijew wins shortly after the decision at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi.
Ajub Blijew is the first Russian judoka in more than two years to win a title under his own flag at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi.
After the 28-year-old’s triumph over Ariunbold Enkhtaivan from Mongolia, the Russian flag was raised and the national anthem played at the award ceremony—the International Judo Federation (IJF) had only announced on Thursday that this would be allowed again.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 had resulted in the imposition of neutral status. This has now been lifted, even though the war of aggression continues unabated.
Belarus had already been reintegrated into judo.
Loud criticism from Ukraine
While the decision was received with euphoria in Russia, as expected, it was met with loud criticism in Ukraine.
On its Instagram account, the Ukrainian federation categorically condemned the measure, saying that judo was thus the first sport to “openly ignore” the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
This decision violates “the principles of peace, justice, and responsibility and undermines trust in international sports institutions,” it continued.
The federation announced that it would “take all possible measures to prevent the implementation of this decision.”