Rene Roch, president of International Fencing Federation (FIE), said in Beijing Friday that the Olympic should not be mingled with politics, and people are invited to come to the Beijing Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), not only the host country government.
"No one should capitalize on the IOC to boycott the games," Roch told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the 2008 FIE World Championships, which kicked off in Beijing on Friday. "We should look ahead in a long term and avoid conflicts," he said.
He noted the FIE would appeal to the IOC to add two more fencing events to the Olympic Games in order to have all the 12 sub-categories of fencing included in the Olympics. Currently only ten fencing golds are up for grab at Olympics, leaving two categories out each time of the Games.
"As IOC is reluctant to increase the total number of athletes for the Olympics, we may ask fencers who have competed in team matches to pass on their accreditation to their teammates for individual contests to keep the original scale if they agree," he told a news conference held on this afternoon.
He extolled the Fencing Hall of National Convention Centre, venue to both the World Championships and the Olympic fencing events, as a world-class fencing hall, which is constructed completely in line with FIE standards and provides almost perfect facilities.
He said the match replay would be shown on the screen in the following FIE championship events to bring spectators closer to the games.
He expressed gratitude to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games and for the comprehensive preparation made for the championships, and believed the fencing events on the Beijing Games will be the most successful one in history.
The ongoing championship draws more than 120 fencers from 19 countries and regions including the top-class France, Germany, Italy and Russia to compete for three gold medals on men's foil individual and team events, as well as women's epee team. |
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