Members of the Swiss amateur women’s boxing team have withdrawn from a world championship event in India in protest of Russian and Belarussian boxers being present.

The Swiss team joined the United States, the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Canada in boycotting the International Boxing Association (IBA) championships.

The IBA has a Russian president, who was elected under contentious circumstances last year.

The boxing association is also in dispute with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, having been excluded from the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Switzerland is boycotting the IBA-led women’s amateur boxing world championship in Delhi next month because Russian and Belarussian athletes have been invited to compete with national flags and anthems.

The participation of Russian and Belarussian athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris next year is source of contention.

Last month, the Swiss-based IOC said athletes from both countries might be allowed to join in, but without flags, anthems or participation of political delegations.

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