Olympic champion Alina Kabayeva commented on the decision of the Israeli side to ban participation in the Grand Prix in Israel in rhythmic gymnastics by Russians Dina and Arina Averin.
This tournament was held before the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Russians were not invited, referring to the difficult situation with the coronavirus in our country. Then the future champion of the Games Lina Ashram confidently won.
Kabayeva believes that all teams should be put in the same conditions, this also applies to the Grand Prix stages.
“If it were impossible for any of the participants for whatever reasons, including epidemiological restrictions, then it would be necessary to cancel the Grand Prix or the Olympics itself. Otherwise, holding competitions in Israel, where in the absence of the leader – the Russian national team – the Israeli athlete won all five gold medals, looks like a conspiracy and preparation for a pre-organized judging at the Olympics itself. And in Tokyo, everything could have slipped unnoticed, if not for the annoying, gross mistake of the Israeli athlete herself – she dropped the object,” Kabaeva was quoted by Sport-Express.
Because of this, there was a scandal when the Ashram judges gave the victory in the all-around at the Olympics.
Kabaeva added that these are just her assumptions, but she added that the Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation of Russia will appeal to the court, which will sort out the situation.
