Daniil Medvedev Reportedly Asks Journo Be Ditched From Olympic Tournament for ‘Scammer’ Question
Despite a strong start in the third round match against his rival, Daniil Medvedev faced a setback in the second set, requiring medical aid, and appearing to struggle in the sweltering heat at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has reportedly requested that a journalist be removed from the Olympic tennis tournament for appearing to brand Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) athletes “scammers”.
Forced to contend with a heat of 31 ° C and humidity of 72% in Tokyo, the men’s world No. 2 won a dramatic three-set victory over Italy’s Fabio Fognini in Ariake tennis park. He then proceeded to the mixed media zone, where in the final question of his English conference, a reporter whose first language was not English, according to media reports, is believed to have asked him:
“After the scandal, Russian Olympic team athletes carry the scammer’s stigma in these games. What do you think about it?”
A furious Medvedev is cited by media outlets as responding:
“It’s the first time in my life, I’m not going to answer the question… you should be ashamed of yourself.”
The Russian is described as turning to a spokesperson beside him and requesting that the journalist should be dismissed from either the Olympic competition or the tennis tournament. All Russian athletes, including Medvedev, are competing under the banner of the Russian Olympic Commission (ROC).
Due to a series of doping scandals in recent years, Russia the World Anti-Doping agency (WADA) Executive Committee in December 2019 recognized RUSADA as not complying with the anti-doping code and unanimously agreed with the recommendation of the Compliance Review Committee to suspend Russian athletes for four years from participating in major international competitions, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games under the Russian flag.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport subsequently lowered its ban for two years.
A Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced in December 2020 it was extending a ban on Russian athletes competing under their national flag.
‘Who will be responsible if I die?’
Earlier in the Olympics third round tennis match, Medvedev seemed to be visibly struggling, and required two medical timeouts and a visit from the trainer as he battled with the heat on court.
"Ich kann hier sterben!"
Mit Daniil Medvedev hat ein weiterer #Tennis-Spieler seine Probleme mit der Hitze bei #Tokyo2020 gehabt.
Beim Match gegen Fabio Fognini sagt der Russe zu Schiedsrichter Carlos Ramos, dass er hier sterben könne. pic.twitter.com/Bo8hEyHfV0
— Deutschlandfunk Sport (@DLF_Sport) July 28, 2021
After being asked by the chair official Carlos Ramos if he was okay, Medvedev replied:
“I can finish the match, but I can die. Who will be responsible if I die?”
The Australian Open finalist, nevertheless, battled past Fabio Fognini for a 6-2 3-6 6-2 win.
In the quarterfinals at the Olympics, Medvedev, playing as part of the Russian Olympic Committee team, will meet Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who defeated Germany's Dominik Koepfer. The match will take place on Thursday, July 29th.
Initially, the Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place last summer, but due to the pandemic, the IOC decided to postpone the competition for a year.
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