Olga Kharlan of Ukraine is one of the top women's fencers in the world, winning numerous medals at the Olympics and World Championships. So when her Russian opponent came forward to shake hands after their match, which is required, Kharlan knew exactly what she was doing when she instead put out her sword (sabre), signalling don't come any closer that she had no intention of shaking her hand. Though Kharlan easily won the match 15-7, she was disqualified and eliminated from the World Championship.
Source: NBC Sports
Olga Kharlan, an Olympic champion fencer from Ukraine, was disqualified from the world championships after not shaking hands after beating an opponent from Russia in the first round.
Kharlan won the bout 15-7 over Anna Smirnova from Russia. The International Fencing Federation (FIE), like some sports federations, allows athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in a neutral capacity without their national flag and anthem.
After the bout, Smirnova reached for a handshake, which is at least customary if not required in the sport. Kharlan put out her sabre sword, either to acknowledge Smirnova (a practice allowed to replace a handshake during the pandemic, but not anymore), to keep her distance from Smirnova or both.
And it's understandable why she would do so. Just last week the Russian terrorists sent a missile strike on her home city of Mykolaiv, which injured 19 people, including 5 children. Under these circumstances, shaking hands with any Russian right now is unthinkable.
The moment.
Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs wasn't impressed by the Russian girl who sat there for nearly an hour, waiting for her handshake that was never going to come. She made a show of it, in other words.
And this is Karlan's dumbass opponent, with her brother who is in Ukraine right now.
And who is the head of FIE (Fédération Internationale d'Escrime)? Another Russian oligarch, heavily sanctioned by many European countries as well as the United States.
So, a bunch of corrupt bastards disqualified her. Kharlan released this statement afterward.
