Degtyarev – about the admission of Russian sambo wrestlers: “We see the merit of Vladimir Putin in this”

The Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee Mikhail Degtyarev said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who enjoys enormous authority in the world of sports, played a huge role in the issue of admitting Russian sambo wrestlers to international tournaments.

On December 4, the Executive Committee of the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) returned to Russian and Belarusian sambo wrestlers the right to compete under national flags and with anthems at international competitions. The decision comes into force on January 1, 2026.

“Our judokas were the first among Olympic sports to regain the right to compete under the national flag and anthem. At the Grand Slam tournament in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of 373 athletes from 52 countries, the Russian team won 2 gold and 4 silver medals. We continued with a performance at the Grand Slam tournament in Tokyo. There, too, the Russian anthem was already playing.

On December 4, the Executive Committee of the International Sambo Federation decided to admit Russian and Belarusian athletes under national flags and anthems to all competitions under the auspices of FIAS from January 1 next year. Earlier, in October, a similar norm was applied to boys and juniors, and has now been extended to all age categories. We see the merit of our President Vladimir Putin in this, who enjoys enormous authority in the world of sports, especially in fighting sports,” the Match TV correspondent reports Degtyarev’s words.

Earlier, Degtyarev noted Putin’s key contribution to the decision of the International Judo Federation (IJF) to allow Russian judokas to compete in international tournaments with national symbols.