Russian athletes are ready to compete in taekwondo at the world championships next month, the sport’s governing body said on Monday.

The decision of the world Taekwondo’s governing council may see Ukraine’s government fulfill a threat. boycott sporting eventsWhere athletes from Russia or Belarus take part.

World Taekwondo leaders meet remotely to discuss International Olympic Committee’s recommendation last weekTo sports organizations to allow neutral athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to return to competitions ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

However, military links between the Russian team and army sports club CSKA, including some of the Tokyo Olympic medalists, may see some athletes hindered by World Taekwondo’s review rules.

The neutrality requirements proposed by the IOC mandate that athletes do not receive active support for the war in Ukraine and must not be “contracted with military or national security agencies.”

World Taekwondo said a review panel will oversee “a verification process to ensure the strict impartiality of participating Individually Neutral Athletes and support personnel.”

Four Russian taekwondo athletes also won medals. tokyo olympics , including two gold medals. There were no qualifying athletes in Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 45 of the 71 medals won at the Tokyo Games were with athletes affiliated with the CSKA club.

Russian taekwondo athletes were expelled from the 2022 world championships to be held in Mexico due to the war in Ukraine. They won four medals in the previous edition held in 2019.

World Taekwondo vowed to call for peace in the war and “continue to support Ukrainian athletes in ensuring they can participate in taekwondo events”.

The Taekwondo world championships are scheduled to start on May 29 in Baku, where Russians and Belarusians can travel more freely without the visa restrictions common in Europe.