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Russians allowed to compete under national flag again, says IJF

The International Judo Federation's executive committee voted to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag starting at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Nov. 28–30.
IJF said individual judokas should not be punished, noting fairness and inclusivity, following its Belarus reinstatement and the International Paralympic Committee's restoration of Russia's and Belarus' membership rights.
Sergey Soloveychik welcomed the move, saying the Russian Judo Federation called it `historic` and Mikhail Degtyarev wrote `Judo is one of the most popular sports in Russia; around half a million citizens practice it regularly` on Telegram.
The Ukrainian Judo Federation called the IJF move `a blatant violation of the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee` and recalled Ukraine's boycott of the 2023 World Judo Championships.
Russia's 2022 invasion prompted earlier bans, and Russian judokas competed under neutral banner status since February 2022; the International Olympic Committee allows Russians only as individual neutral athletes at next year's Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

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First Title For Russian Judoka Since Neutral Status Lifted

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