Agency Report
A teenage Ukrainian athlete has sparked a huge reaction after refusing to take a photo with a Russian rival.
The youngster, 13-year-old Yevhenii Melnyk, was competing in the under-45kg category at the Youth Karate League in Guadalajara, Spain.
Melnyk shared a bronze medal alongside Spanish competitor Beltran Tamargo Salgado, with Saudi Arabian Abdullah Albishi claiming silver and “neutral” Russian athlete Igor Grigorev taking gold.
Trouble arose when the teenagers were asked to pose for a traditional group photo after the medal presentation.
In a viral video, Melnyk gave a brief nod of his head and immediately walked away from the ceremony.
When an official tried to convince Melnyk to return to the podium, he vigorously waved his hand and then extended an index finger to show he had no interest in the photograph.
A few people are heard loudly clapping the move by such a young athlete, with Melnyk representing the Kyiv-based Shogun club.
A Ukrainian karate page on Instagram, called Karate Project, captioned a video of the incident “no photos with terrorists” along with a red X emoji.
It continues a number of protests by Ukrainian athletes towards Russian counterparts ever since a major escalation of Russia’s war against its geographical neighbour in February 2022.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, the current WTA world No. 25, said at the Australian Open in January she will never shake a Russian opponent’s hand while the war is ongoing.
After her fourth round victory at Melbourne Park this year, fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina wrote “The spirit of Ukraine” on a camera lens after beating a Russian opponent.
“I played many times already since the beginning of the war against Russian players,” former world No. 3 Svitolina said afterwards.
“For me, it’s nothing new. I’m extremely motivated to win today, that people in Ukraine wake up to good news. I’m very happy that I made it happen.
“If I’m not going to win … I’m going to almost die on the court,”
Russian and Belarusian athletes have been allowed to compete in many sports across the world, but typically under a neutral flag.
Ukrainian site The New Voice of Ukraine stated two female athletes also refused a photo opportunity with a Russian competitor at the World Karate Federation’s Youth League last year.
The stance taken by Melnyk led to a huge response on social media, with the video going viral and starting to be picked up by some global news outlets.
Taking to X, one observer tweeted: “A teenager has better understanding of a global policy than most of the politicians and athletes.”
A second wrote: “Well done young man. So proud of you & congratulations on your medal.”
A third wrote: “There’s nothing neutral about it, he was absolutely correct.”
A fourth asked: “Why is Russia not suspended anymore? Is the war already over?”
A few of those commenting suggested it was poor sportsmanship by the teenager.
But the vast majority supported his stance as the significant increase in the conflict drags into a third year.
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