File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Tuesday announced their decision to exclude Russia from the upcoming FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup scheduled from April 1 to 12 in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
This decision from the chief hockey body has come following Monday's recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to avoid the participation of Russian athletes and officials in international competitions - in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all participants.
Earlier this week, FIH had expressed its full solidarity to the members of Ukraine's hockey community at this terrible time.
"FIH is in regular contact with the Hockey Association of Ukraine and is doing its utmost to offer any support it can, in the hope that the Ukrainian team will be able to participate in the upcoming FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup. FIH expresses its strong hope for a peaceful resolution rapidly," the statement by FIH statement added.
(Reported by ANI)
