Boxing World Championships, the mess of the wrong Russian anthem on the podium

Russia is there ai Women’s Boxing World Championships and it is the first time since the invasion of Ukraine that the white, blue and red flag can be flown freely at an international rally. This is thanks to the Iba, the World Boxing Federation, chaired by a Russian, Umar Kremlev. The decision, as is known, led to a boycott of the event by a dozen countries, including the USA and Great Britain. Not from Italy, which arrived with its best athletes and arrived on the podium twice with Irma Testa and Sirine Chaarabi.

The Russian anthem mess

In short, Russia is there and has also won a gold medal. In the 70 kg final, Anastasia Demurchian beat the Australian with a unanimous verdict Kaye Scott. Wrapped in her country’s flag, Demurchian took to the podium, received her medal, and readied herself to hear the national anthem. But not everything went the right way. In the Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi the notes of the Piano Concerto No.1 by Tchaikovsky. Not a random choice: that was the anthem used on the occasion of the international successes of the Russian athletes authorized to participate in the competitions after the suspension for doping by the state of Moscow and used in Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022. In short, a mistake and a coincidence diplomat despite the recommendations of the Russian delegation, which arrived in India with 12 athletes. In New Delhi instead the real Russian national anthem, in force since 2000, should have played. Moments of bewilderment, until then, but much later, when the stadium was already empty and all the athletes had already left, among the World Cup organizing committee the correct anthem was played. “The incident ruined the atmosphere because I wanted the awards ceremony to go like any other without such mistakes,” said Russian coach Albert Mutalibov. On the podium there was only her, Anastasia Demurchian.