No Handshakes

Sport is no longer insulated from geopolitics, but every qualified athlete must get to compete 

Organised sports play inside a theatre of politeness. Sportsmanship, it’s often called. Ritualised handshakes, lining up after a match, applauding opponents, accepting officials’ decisions, wearing uniforms, observing rules…these are all built around “the good life” idea. Of how human beings ought to live together. Their rawest impulses regulated by norms and rituals. In lawn tennis, the handshake at the end of the match takes place at the net, the barrier becoming the meeting point. But last week, after Russia’s Mirra Andreeva defeated Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 at the French Open semifinal, Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Andreeva. This, however, was no shock. Gradually, as wars and other geopolitical skirmishes change the playing field, performative politeness is being replaced by something else. Some call the new kid on the block, authenticity. Being real.

Some things in life are ahead of sportsmanship, Suryakumar Yadav said after a no-handshake Asia Cup dust-up with Pakistan. But there remains an important distinction, between what sportspersons do of their own volition, and what their govt forces them to do against their wishes. For example, rather than face Israeli opponents, Iranian judokas and wrestlers are made to accept defeat, to avoid the optics of a handshake. Various defections have made it clear how unhappy Iranians are with such curbs. And now, with a football World Cup taking place in the shadow of the Feb 28 war, international restraints have multiplied. The Iran team’s training camp forced to relocate from Tuscan to Tijuana, highly restrictive US visas, reduced coaching, all of this with bombs still threatening their homes. 

Geopolitical fragmentation is seeping into the world of sports. It can no longer be idealised as a politically neutral arena. Still, one ideal must hold. Everyone who qualifies for a competition, must be allowed to participate in it.

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