To withstand the blow: Putin called worthy the return of athletes to the international arena

Russia's position in world sports remains strong, despite cowardly attempts to weaken it, Vladimir Putin said on April 22 at the ceremony of awarding state awards to world boxing champions in the Kremlin. The President recalled the enormous damage caused to the Olympic movement by the former leadership of the IOC and expressed the hope that with the new composition of the committee it would overcome the shameful and difficult legacy of its predecessors. Even now, our athletes are gradually returning to international competitions and doing it with dignity, the head of state emphasized. And Russia is ready to continue providing ample opportunities for sports, both professional and mass.

How has the position of Russian sports changed on the world stage

On the evening of April 22, Vladimir Putin met with the winners of the World Boxing Championships in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin. The president has always been indifferent to sports topics. It is known that the head of state is fond of sambo and judo, but one day he told about the experience of boxing. According to him, after his nose was broken during one of the training sessions, he decided to take up wrestling.

Today, the performances and results of our athletes at international competitions confirm that Russia's leadership positions in world sports are solid and unshakable, despite unscrupulous attempts to weaken them, the president stressed. Vladimir Putin said the huge damage to the Olympic movement caused by the "shameful, cowardly, politically motivated behavior" of the former IOC leadership.

Until last year, the International Olympic Committee was headed by the notorious Thomas Bach. In June 2025, he was replaced by Kirsty Coventry. And already in December, the IOC executive committee recommended that the federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in youth competitions with a flag and anthem.

International sports officials imposed selective sanctions against Russia because of the situation around Ukraine, but completely ignored other armed conflicts on the planet, the president pointed out. This only speaks to their corruption and political bias. Vladimir Putin expressed hope that the new IOC leadership will overcome the shameful and difficult legacy of its predecessors. The athletes themselves are counting on this.

— Any head of a sports organization must first of all protect the athletes who stand on the podium. And an athlete performs, representing his country, his people. I am sure that the vector that the heads of international associations will take will be set in the right direction — in defense of athletes. And in the near future, everything will change, everything will return. I hope that no one else will make such a mistake to limit an athlete. I am very glad that the international boxing family made the right choice at a difficult time for the sports world," Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Russian Boxing Federation Umar Kremlev told Izvestia.

Who received state awards from the hands of the president

Today, Russian athletes are gradually returning to international competitions and doing it with dignity, the president stressed. An example of this is the Paralympians at the last Games in Italy. Their performance was a real triumph — the third team place was won by a team that was many times inferior in number to the teams of the main rivals. For the first time in 12 years, the Russian national team marched with the national flag to the opening of the 2026 Paralympics in Verona.

Moreover, the boxers proudly tell reporters that it was they who began the long-awaited process of returning the Russian flag and anthem to international tournaments. The International Boxing Association (IBA), headed by Umar Kremlev, immediately refused to follow the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee on the issue of depriving athletes of Russia and Belarus of national identification — boxers from both countries have always performed at its tournaments without any restrictions.

— I am sure that you, like your comrades, representatives of various sports, have many more sporting triumphs ahead, including at major international competitions and always under our native flag accompanied by the national anthem of Russia, — said the Russian leader.

The President presented state awards to the world boxing champions and representatives of the Russian Boxing Federation. He recalled that at the 2025 World Championships, both the men's and women's national teams won first places in the team competition. Vladimir Putin awarded the Order of Friendship to Umar Kremlev and three-time world boxing champion, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Muslim Gadzhimagomedov.

The Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, was awarded to the current UFC champion Peter Yan and the current WBA regular champion Murat Gassiev. Two-time world boxing champion Sharabutdin Atayev, as well as champions Dzhambulat Bizhamov, Ismail Mutsolgov, Ilya Popov, David Surov and Vsevolod Shumkov received the award from the president. The Order also recognized the merits of Alexander Besputin, General Secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation.

There were many girls among the awardees — the president presented medals to world boxing champions Nuna Asatryan, Elena Gapeshina, Saltanat Medenova and Anastasia Shamonova.

— I am proud that my championship title brought victory to our team. Thank you so much for the support we felt despite the long distance. We won medals for the sake of our country, for the sake of our Motherland," Shamonova said.

Russia will do everything to support its athletes, including boxers, Vladimir Putin promised. Moreover, the country intends to continue providing ample opportunities for sports, both professional and mass. At the end of the ceremony, the athletes even decided to break their regime — Vladimir Putin, according to tradition, talked with the boxers over a glass of champagne after presenting the state awards. Some of those present, however, remained faithful to the sports regime and enjoyed alcoholic drinks.