London, April 27: Garry Kasparov, the all-time Russian chess grandmaster, criticized world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic for supporting Russian athletes and said that all those who do not condemn President Vladimir Putin’s “war of extermination in Ukraine” silently support. .
Djokovic of Serbia, speaking on the issue that the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing at this year’s Wimbledon, recently said that while he condemns the war, the Wimbledon ban on tennis players from Russia and Belarus was unacceptable.
“I will always condemn war. I will never support war being a child of war myself. I know how much emotional trauma it leaves behind. In Serbia we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans we have had many wars in recent history. However, I can’t support the Wimbledon decision, I think it’s crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good,” Djokovic said in Belgrade recently.
Kasparov took to Twitter to remind Djokovic of the war traumas Serbia is facing.
“Russia can play by qualification, but they kill by nationality. Russian athletes who do not condemn Putin’s war of extermination in Ukraine silently support it. And for a Serb not to do so is especially inappropriate, considering history,” Kasparov, who was ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 255 months overall for his career, he tweeted.
Top players to miss out on Wimbledon include Russia’s World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 4 Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, among others.
The reason given by Wimbledon organizers for barring Russian players from competing this year is that, “In the circumstances of such unprecedented and unwarranted military aggression by Russia, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from participation. of Russians or Belarusians”. players with ‘The Championships'”.