Terentyev called Russia's non-admission to the Paralympics sad news for world sports

The decision not to allow Russian athletes to participate in the 2026 Paralympic Games, which discriminates "on the basis of nationality," will primarily negatively affect the entire international sport. Mikhail Terentyev, chairman of the All-Russian Society of the Disabled (VOI), Paralympic champion, deputy of the State Duma (State Duma), told Izvestia about this on October 23.

"Very sad news has befallen our athletes, but first of all, of course, the sad news has befallen international sports, because there is no competition, there are no high results, and international sports will only lose the colorfulness of the Paralympic Games," he said.

The Chairman of the VOI recalled that this decision was made on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN). According to him, any sport can develop successfully only in equal conditions, consisting in fair treatment of athletes by judges and observance of fair competition in competitions.

"Sport makes it possible to travel, makes it possible to make friends, makes it possible for different people to understand different cultures more, and only in different cultures, in different features, the world becomes a better place, the world becomes more understandable and tolerant of the features of other people, another person and another nationality," he concluded.

Impassable barrier: why Russia won't be at the 2026 Paralympics after all

The position of the international federations did not allow our athletes to participate in the selection

The press service of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that Russian athletes would not compete at the 2026 Paralympics on the same day. Later, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, called this news "Nazism."

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