Three-time Olympic fencing champion Galina Gorokhova called the refusal of saber fencer Olga Kharlan to shake hands with Russia's Anna Smirnova at the World Championships-2023 boorish. Gorokhova said in an interview with TASS that it was a "well-thought-out rudeness" on the part of the Ukrainian.

The 84-year-old Gorokhova also felt that the saber that Kharlan pointed at the Russian meant a sign of aggression, although in fact Olga was acting according to cobbled protocol and was going to salute her opponent by crossing her arms.

"The decision to stop the opponent's movement with the saber could not have arisen instantly, for sure it was all thought out in advance. But sport is sport, let her transfer her state of mind to others at home, it is not necessary to do it on the track. Moreover, our main fencers were not admitted to the World Championship, we didn't come there with the first team. Our girl is from the junior national team, she is participating in this kind of competitions for the first time," said the Russian champion.

As reported OBOZREVATEL, Kharlan defeated Russian Anna Smirnova in 1/32 World Championships 2023 in Milan. Our compatriot after the fight refused to shake hands with her opponent, who made a real circus, refusing to leave the track.

The representative of the Russian Federation filed a protest against the result of the duel, which was rejected. The propaganda channel Match TV published a photo of the denunciation that Anna Smirnova wrote on Olga. As a result, the FIE disqualified Kharlan from the World Cup-2023, but the next day suspended its decision.

Our saberist herself noted that she was simply killed by the decision to exclude her from the tournament.

Note that Smirnova is not a "neutral" athlete, as required by the regulations of the competition. The brother of the representative of the aggressor country is a military man, and she is very proud of him, which is evident from the joint photos.

After the high-profile publicity in the world media, the IOC also reacted to the scandal by making a sensational decision on the Ukrainian.

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