IOC assures Ukraine fencer of Paris Games spot after DQ for not shaking hands with Russian opponent

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — The IOC has assured Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan that she will have a place at the Paris Olympics next year after she was disqualified from a key ranking event for refusing to shake hands with a Russian she had beaten. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach wrote to Kharlan saying a “unique exception” had been made by allocating her an extra place to ensure she competes in Paris. Kharlan was DQ’d from the world championships on Thursday in Milan. She offered a pointed sabre instead of a handshake toward her opponent Anna Smirnova. The Russian then refused to leave the field of play for 50 minutes in protest.