Attempts to boycott Olympics wrong: Mongolian official

Ulan Bator, Dec 2 (IANS) Boycotting the Olympics or politicising sports is wrong, a senior official of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee (MNOC) has said.

"The International Olympic Committee's charter clearly states that sports must be politically neutral. Therefore, I believe that it is wrong to boycott the Olympics in any way," said Enkhbat Badar-Uugan, secretary-general of the MNOC, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We must first consider the interests of our athletes, who have worked hard for many years. All Olympic committees put the interests of their athletes first," Badar-Uugan said.

In that sense, despite the challenges from Covid-19 pandemic, our big Olympic family finally successfully organised the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, he said.

"The next Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, capital of China, next year. I am confident that national Olympic Committees of all countries and regions will unite their voices to ensure the success of the Winter Olympics and to successfully participate in the Olympic Games."

Badar-Uugan is the first Olympic boxing champion from Mongolia. He won the gold medal in the Bantamweight (-54 kg) division at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Two cross-country skiers of Mongolia have so far qualified for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, he said.