Seoul (South Korea): Russian President Vladimir Putin has been stripped of his honorary Taekwondo black belt for invading Ukraine.
World Taekwondo issued a statement, saying that it has "decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Vladimir Putin in November 2013".
"World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph” and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance."
To further tighten the sanctions, the international federation governing the sport of taekwondo said that it will not organise or recognise events in Russia and Belarus.
"In solidarity with the International Olympic Committee, no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems will be displayed or played at World Taekwondo events. World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union will not organise or recognise Taekwondo events in Russia and Belarus." (UNI)