Italian NOC president Giovanni Malago requires banning Russian and Belarusian gamers from participating in The Italian Open

Giovanni Malago reckoned that the Italian Tennis Federation ought to comply with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) suggestion.

Daniil Medvedev. Courtesy: PTI

HIGHLIGHTSThe Italian Open is ready to start out on May 2Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has additionally backed banning the gamersNovak Djokovic had opposed suspending the gamers from Wimbledon

Italian NOC president Giovanni Malago has instructed banning the Russian and Belarusian gamers from participating within the upcoming Internazionali BNL d’Italia (The Italian Open), to be performed from May 2 to fifteen. Malago’s feedback got here after Wimbledon barred them from taking part within the prestigious championship, beginning Monday, June 27.

Players from Russia and Belarus have additionally been suspended from different Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)-organised tournaments, together with the Queen’s Club Championships and the Eastburn International. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a lot of international locations have banned Russian and Belarusian gamers from their tournaments.

As per the NOC president, the Italian Tennis Federation ought to comply with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) suggestion and ban the Russian and Belarusian gamers.

Italian NOC president speaks up

“The [IOC] Executive Committee has recommended to all federations not to invite Russian and Belarusian athletes to tournaments and sporting events. Wimbledon, a private club, has followed the recommendation,” Malago was quoted as saying in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere.

All important federations… have been in accord and followed the IOC recommendation,” the president added.

If studies are to be believed, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is seeking to ban the gamers from the clay-court match. The imposition of bans will have an effect on huge names like Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Aryna Sabalenka.

Earlier, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reckoned that the choice to ban the Russian and Belarusian gamers from Wimbledon was “crazy”. The veteran, who just lately completed because the runners-up within the Serbia Open, stated that the athletes had nothing to do with the continued battle and shouldn’t have been punished.