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The OCA’s (Olympic Council of Asia) invitation of Russia and Belarus to the upcoming Asian Games has stirred up a debate among Asian countries. 

One of the upcoming sports events in 2023 is the Asian Games, regulated by the OCA.

This year’s Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou, China during the fall season.

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Russian athletes were only allowed to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) due to the country’s ongoing doping violations.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government underwent an expulsion from international sports events. 

However, the OCA permitted athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in the 2023 Guangzhou Asian Games. 

This issue has been hotly debated among many Asian countries. 

In order to compete in the Asian Games, Russian athletes have to pass the continental qualifying stages; however, since Russia is unable to participate in the European group, Russia is being permitted to take part in the Asian group hosted by China instead.

Although the invasion of Ukraine is still an ongoing matter, allowing Russian athletes to compete in these events could potentially lead to further conflicts between the countries in the future.

Nevertheless, since it is an international competition, it can definitely be a sensitive issue for some; allowing Russia and Belarus is a debatable issue since only countries that are part of the OCA are eligible for the competition.

The OCA believes that all athletes, regardless of their nationality, have the right to compete; therefore, they offered to “give Russian and Belarusian athletes the opportunity to take part in competitions in Asia, including the Asian Games”

Similarly, the IOC stated that athletes who are not politically involved in the war have the right to compete. 

Critics say that the IOC is not taking the suffering that Ukraine is facing due to the Russian invasion into consideration. 

Furthermore, the relationship between Russia and China can positively enforce the participation of the two countries. 

The problem is that the OCA did not inform any of the countries that are part of the association. 

If the participation of Russia is confirmed, there would be a clash of opinions between the OCA and Asian countries, especially Korea and Japan. 

Although Russia is not allowed to be part of European sports events, through their participation in the Asian Games, they will be able to earn ranking points needed for the Olympics.

Another problem is that Russia is a strong country when it comes to sports. 

Depending on the sport, the top countries are usually Korea, Japan, and China.

However, if Russia competes in the Asian Games, the athletes from different countries might lose the opportunity to win a medal or earn points. 

Winning a medal is important for male athletes, particularly in Korea. 

Enlisting in the military is mandatory for all men; by winning a medal, they are granted exemption from going to the army for two years, which is a valuable period of time for athletes. 

If Russia advances to the finals instead of the Asian countries, it can become a displeasing problem. 

Due to the fact that the path for Russian athletes has reopened, Ukraine, which lost 180 athletes due to the war, has been protesting against this issue.

Ukraine’s sports minister protested that if one Russian athlete competes in the Paris Olympics, the country would boycott.