On Saturday, July 8 the Olympic Council of Asia voted to permit up to 500 athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the 2023 Asian Games. The Games will take place from September 23-October 8 in Hangzhou, China with wrestling competing from October 4-7. 

This decision follows the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation in March of 2023 to allow Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete in international competitions under a neutral flag. The IOC also made a recommendation for Russian and Belarussian athletes to participate in Asian qualifying events for the 2024 Olympics if European countries continue to place a ban on the respective Russian and Belarussian athletes. It’s worth noting that the 2023 Asian Games are not a qualifying event for the 2024 Olympics. The Asian Olympic qualifier will take place in April of 2024 and the decision to allow Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete at the Asian Games opens the door for them to potentially compete in the 2024 Asian Olympic qualifier.

Will Russia And Belarus Be At The 2023 World Championships?

It still hasn’t been officially announced whether or not Russian and Belarussian wrestlers will compete at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on September 16-24. In April, United World Wrestling released an official statement supporting the return of Russian and Belarussian wrestlers to international competition. Despite that statement, the athletes have received mixed treatment when attempting to compete internationally. Russian and Belarussian wrestlers competed under a neutral flag at the U17 European Championships in Albania yet Spain refused to issue visas to those athletes for the U20 European Championships. Only two months out from the World Championships, we should expect an official announcement to be made soon regarding the participation of Russian and Belarussian wrestlers at the 2023 Senior World Championships.