Netherlands denies visas to three leading Russian gymnasts for Rotterdam World Championships

The Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation reported that the Dutch embassy denied Schengen visas to three leading Russian gymnasts — Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Victoria Listunova, as well as Anna Kalmykova. The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships will take place in Rotterdam from October 17 to 25.

According to TASS, the official wording of the refusal is identical for all three: "one or more Schengen zone member states consider the athletes a threat to their international relations." The Federation stressed that the notifications were received four days before the start of the competition.

Meanwhile, four other Russian athletes — Daniil Marinov, Arseny Dukhno, Sergey Naydin, and Alena Glotova — who were granted Schengen visas have already arrived in the Netherlands. The status of five further participants — including Lyudmila Roschina and Milana Kayumova — remained open at the time of the TASS report.