Sport, fear and kickbacks: how officials make money off of Deaflympians

The Deaflympics (competitions among athletes with hearing impairments) in Tokyo began on November 15. For Ukraine, these were to be days of sporting pride. Especially in table tennis, where we are traditionally strong and where the team has been preparing for years to bring gold.

However, instead of winning titles and the national flag above the podium, we got a large-scale scandal that broke out right before the competition. A scandal that directly threatens the medals and the country's reputation.

In recent weeks, the media has published several articles about how officials are making money from deaf athletes, turning disability sports into an instrument of pressure, fear, and kickbacks. We are talking about significant funds – about $20 million, which disabled athletes will receive as prize money at competitions.

The primary source of information was not journalists or sports experts, but the athletes themselves. They argue that there is a rigid system of intimidation and enrichment in the sport of people with disabilities, both among Deaflympians (athletes with hearing impairments) and Paralympians. And the current conflict in the Deaflympic table tennis team has become a catalyst for public outcry .

The position of the officials is well understood. The Sports Federation of the Deaf of Ukraine issued a statement with the eloquent headline "Sensation or Fake", where they emotionally denied the information from the athletes. That's why I decided to talk directly to the athletes, who do not have a ministry with a powerful bureaucracy behind them, but only the will, hard training and, perhaps, a need common to all mankind – the need for justice.