PRAGUE, Jan 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Czech President Milos Zeman has spoken out against a boycott of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.
“I am fundamentally against the misuse of the Olympic idea for political purposes,” Zeman said in a statement on the Prague Castle website.
According to him, there is now a more subtle form of this abuse, where the boycott is announced by politicians, not by athletes. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a press conference, called the decision to boycott the Beijing Olympics unacceptable.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier called the initiative of a number of countries on a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics ineffective and urged not to politicize the Olympic movement.
Prior to this, Austrian politicians refused to travel to the Olympics due to the coronavirus, and Japan also decided not to send ministers and government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The Winter Olympic Games in Beijing will be held on Feb 4-20,
“Frankly, if some political bigwigs aren’t at the Olympics, nothing terrible will happen,” said the Czech president.
The Czech Olympic Committee on Friday approved a team of 113 athletes for Beijing 2022, a record number of the country for Winter Olympics.
At the end of his message, Zeman wished the team “good luck, good health, and many successes.” — NNN-AGENCIES
