New Delhi, May 7 (PTI) World Athletics vice president Adille J. Sumariwalla on Thursday categorically rejected reports that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the national athletics federations of India and Russia.
The denial comes after reports suggested a formal tie-up for training and athlete exchange.
Sumariwalla noted that while India remains part of broader partnerships like BRICS, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has not signed a specific bilateral agreement with the Russian body.
“… I can categorically confirm that there is no Memorandum of Understanding between Russian Athletics and the Athletics Federation of India and no Russian athlete will compete in India while World Athletics’ sanctions that exclude Russian athletes, officials and supporting personnel from competition remain in place,” Sumariwalla said in a statement.
“We all hope there is a resolution soon to Russia’s war on Ukraine and we standby to re-engage with Russian athletics as soon as this comes to pass,” the AFI spokesperson added.
The Russian athletics federation has been hit by multiple suspensions, though some restrictions were lifted in 2022.
The current international athletic landscape remains sensitive regarding their involvement due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The European country said last week that athletics bodies of India and Russia are looking at a “long-term cooperation” in organising training camps, grassroots development works and mutual participation of their players in their respective competitions, the European country said.
Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) said on Instagram last week that its officials — Executive Director Boris Yaryshevsky and General Secretary Alexander Georgadze — recently visited India and met Athletics Federation of India (AFI) officials.
The AFI officials, however, said that there is no specific programme agreed upon by the two sides as of now. PTI PDS AH APS APS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.