PUNE: The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) president Luciano Rossi is a worried man these days. As the clock to the Paris Olympics is ticking, Rossi has too much on his plate. His biggest worry is that like most international sports federations, the ISSF too has banned participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international events.
As there are only a limited number of quota events scheduled, Rossi feels it would be unfair to the athletes from these two countries if they don't get a chance to compete.
In an exclusive chat with TOI, the Italian said his hopes are pinned on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach. “The situation is complicated as of now. It has become more of a political issue than a sports issue. In sports, our goal is different from the politics around it. Our goal is to spread peace, friendship. I am scheduled to meet president Thomas Bach and will consult with him to deal with the current situation,” Rossi said.
“It has become more complicated because many countries in Europe have signed against Russia’s participation in the World events and the Olympics. The situation is bad in Ukraine and hence the sentiments are justified. We hope that the war situation deescalates and at the same time IOC comes up with some solution. We are working to repair this mistake, and hopefully soon we will start the games (for Russians and Belarusians),” he said.
Rossi’s worry is justified as Russian and Belarusian athletes are at a risk of losing the opportunity to qualify for the Paris Games. The Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA) has invited the Russian athletes to participate in the Asian Games. But Russians participating in the Asian events would be unfair to the Asian athletes, feels the ISSF head.
“It has become very difficult to organize events ahead of the Olympics and follow the basic qualification system. The World Cups may not have direct quotas, but the events are important for ranking points. You have continental championships for quotas, but looking at the situation in Europe, Russia’s participation is tough. There are many Asian countries agreeing to Russian participation in their continental quota events, but then Asia has a limited number of quotas and the Russians will ultimately take those away. It won’t be fair,” he said, adding, “Any federation president will not like to be in a situation like this where he has to put some athletes out of competition. This is against the Olympic spirit.”
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