Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan disqualified from world championships after refusal to shake hands with Russian opponent

Olha Kharlan, the leader of the Ukrainian fencing team, was disqualified from participating in the world championships after she refused to "congratulate" the neutral athlete from Russia, Anna Smirnova, after her victory. The opponent of the Ukrainian went to the next round automatically.

Suspilne reports this.

Kharlan took part in the world championships in the singles saber fencing tournament the day after the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine changed the wording of the order on the boycott of the competition, which features athletes from Russia and Belarus. And she defeated a neutral fencer from Russia in the very first match at the play-off stage.

After the fight was over, Kharlan refused to shake Smirnova's hand, offering to "bump" with a weapon. Not receiving an answer from the Russian, the Ukrainian fencer left the limits of the track.

The Russian athlete tried to protest Harlan's actions, referring to the refusal of the "congratulations" by the Ukrainian, which according to the rules of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), is punishable by a black card – disqualification from the tournament. Despite this, Kharlan made it to the next round in the live scoreboard, who was supposed to meet the representative of Bulgaria, Ioana Ilieva.

However, the fight between Kharlan and Ilieva did not occur in the end; the female fencers did not even go on the track. And in the live scoreboard, it was noted that the Bulgarian athlete passed to the next round.

The competition protocol against Olha Kharlan has her being "excluded." Suspilne Sport, a source at the World Cup, says Kharlan was kicked out of the World Cup.

The FIE rules have only one interpretation of "exclusion" – it involves disqualification from the competition and suspension for 60 days from all further starts. The Ukrainian fencer has to miss the team fencing tournament, where there are no neutral representatives from Russia and Belarus.