Russia-Ukraine crisis: After International Judo Federation, World Taekwondo strips Vladimir Putin of black belt

Reported By:| Edited By: |Source: ANI |Updated: Mar 01, 2022, 09:44 AM IST

World Taekwondo has strongly condemned the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the body`s vision of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph” and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance.

“In this regard, World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Vladimir Putin in November 2013,” stated an official statement.

World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph” and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance.#PeaceIsMorePreciousThanTriumphhttps://t.co/nVTdxDdl2I
— World Taekwondo (@worldtaekwondo) February 28, 2022

In solidarity with the International Olympic Committee, no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems will be displayed or played at World Taekwondo events.

World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union will not organise or recognise Taekwondo events in Russia and Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday had announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen.”

Earlier, Vladimir Putin temporarily lost his most senior official position in world sports on Sunday. The International Judo Federation cited “the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine” for suspending Putin’s honorary president status.

The Russian president is a keen judoka and attended the sport at the 2012 London Olympics.