The organizers awarded the 16-year-old Ukrainian without hesitation. There is no sport in their politics.
The case of Ivan Kulyak excited fans and experts for several months. As a result, the action of our gymnast at the awards ceremony turned into a one-year disqualification: the young athlete attached the letter Z to his uniform.
In mid-June, history repeated itself, but with a citizen of Ukraine. The boxer took second place at a status tournament in Hungary and, having risen to the podium, unfurled the flag … But not of her country, but of the well-known nationalist battalion Azov (an organization banned in the Russian Federation).
Now the Ukrainian is also disqualified?
Twice asked to remove the flag
The international tournament “Gergely Bornemissa Memorial” was held in Eger for the 71st time. 224 athletes entered the competition and, it should be noted, athletes from Ukraine performed the brightest. In the age category born in 2004 and 2005, for which the Hungarian tournament was a key start in preparation for the World Championship, they won 12 titles and 24 medals in total.
They might have had at least one victory more, but in the final in the weight category up to 50 kg, 17-year-old Romanian Roxana Gamza defeated Diana Petrenko.
Shortly following this fight, an extremely resonant episode occurred. At the awards ceremony, the 16-year-old athlete unfurled a flag with the symbols of an organization banned in Russia.
The organizers later drew attention to the action and tried to reprimand the girl. But the first time it did not work: Diana continued to hold the flag with a stone face. At the same time, the awarding went on as usual: an elderly man, as if nothing had happened, hung a medal around the neck of a Ukrainian woman. And even shook the girl’s hand, in which she held a military flag. Diana agreed to roll up the cloth only following a second request.
Will officials have the courage?
Whether the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) will leave this incident without attention or start an investigation is still unclear. However, Ukrainian journalists and athletes have already expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Diana was asked to roll up the flag.
But if the sports authorities want to behave consistently, officials must understand that following the removal of Kulyak for demonstrating the letter Z, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to a similar gesture by a Ukrainian woman.
Whether Ioannis Philippatos, who took office a couple of months ago as EUBC President, will decide on this is a big question. The confederation now finds itself between two fires, but a choice will have to be made. A fair scenario is obvious, because all the work for the boxers has already been done in gymnastics. Enough courage to repeat?
