Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev expressed his opinion on Russian athletes who changed their sports citizenship.
“Athletes who renounced their Russian citizenship to participate in international competitions should be stripped of all titles and banned from entering the country. Such actions are pure betrayal,” the minister noted.
According to him, “we spend money on them, provide training facilities, and they leave after throwing away their passports. They should be banned from entering and using our sports facilities. We will definitely come to this,” he added.
Among the wrestlers of the Kyrgyzstan national team in freestyle wrestling is two-time Russian champion Malik Shavaev, who won the title of champion of Kyrgyzstan at the end of December 2025 and managed to earn a medal at an international tournament.
Previously, athletes such as Arslan Budazhapov, Zhargalan Budazhapov, and Aligadji Gamidgadzhiyev also represented the Kyrgyzstan team.
