MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2021) The commission of athletes within the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said on Thursday it had proposed to the ROC Executive Committee to use the popular Soviet song "Katyusha as the musical theme of Russian athletes at the Olympic Games for the next two years since they were banned from playing the Russian national anthem.
On December 17, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled to prohibit Russian athletes from participating in large international competitions, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, under the flag and anthem of Russia until December 2022.
"We discussed the music theme options for our athletes for the next two years and picked 'Katyusha,'" the commission's head, Olympic sabre fencing gold medalist Sofya Velikaya, told reporters.
The athlete said the alternative options were many, including modern songs, but the majority of athletes voted to pick "Katyusha."
While the song's popularity peaked during the Second World War � especially among women as its protagonist is a woman named Katyusha who bids farewell to her beloved husband as he heads for the frontline � the song became a symbol of the Moscow-hosted 1980 Olympic Games.
The CAS ruling came as a result of arbitration between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency over an alleged violation of the anti-doping code. The ruling practically halved the punishment period initially requested by WADA for the Russian athletes.
