Taekwondo and wrestling "unanimously" supported World Combat Games last month, claims SportAccord

SportAccord have claimed there was unanimous support for the World Combat Games last month in Sochi ©SportAccord

"Unanimous" support for the World Combat Games was pledged by 15 of the 16 participating sports last month, SportAccord have declared today following the subsequent withdrawal of up to three of these members.

This exodus, which followed the critical words of SportAccord President Marius Vizer about the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its President, Thomas Bach, began last week when the International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced it would not compete at the 2017 edition of the SportAccord-run Games in Lima.

The body's President CK Wu claimed their continued participation would challenge their identity as a "noble art".

On Monday (May 11), the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) followed suit at its General Assembly here, before United World Wrestling revealed they will "refrain to participate in the activities and games organised by SportAccord", until relations with the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations have improved to "the latter’s satisfaction".

But this comes in stark contrast to the "intensive discussions" with 15 participating IFs in Sochi during the SportAccord Convention, with a statement today claiming the "results of all these discussions were positive and encouraging with unanimous expressions of support for the event".

The one World Combat Games member missing from all these discussions was AIBA, insidethegames has learned.

The words of Marius Vizer at the SportAccord General Assembly have caused the decision-changes, but they did supposedly declare support for the World Combat Games in the days after this speech ©SportAccord

In conjunction with the Peruvian Olympic Committee, meetings were held with all the other bodies one-on-one throughout the week in Sochi, with a collective meeting held on Tuesday, April 21, the day after Vizer's explosive opening address which has prompted boxing, taekwondo and wrestling - along with athletics, archery, canoeing and shooting - to also suspend their SportAccord membership.

In an interview with the Japan Times, Vizer claimed Federations had come under "pressure" to change their approaches from tacit support to criticism, with this also implied in today's statement, which represents the first official response from SportAccord since the Convention ended last month.

But, insidethegames has been told that, rather than due to external pressure, the taekwondo decision came after WTF President Chungwon Choue consulted his fellow Council members, who were not present in Sochi, while they had also required time to digest the impact of Vizer's words.

Marius Vizer (left) ringing a bell to open the 2013 World Combat Games in St Petersburg alongside Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak ©SportAccord

First held in 2010 in Beijing, the World Combat Games took place for a second time in St Petersburg in 2013, with a third edition awarded to the Peruvian capital in March of this year.

Boxing, taekwondo and wrestling were three of six Olympic sports scheduled to be on the programme, along with fencing, judo and weightlifting, with the remaining 10 consisting of aikido, ju-jitsu, karate, kendo, kickboxing, muaythai, sambo, savate, sumo and wushu.

While the Marius Vizer-led International Judo Federation seems certain to remain, the future of other sports on the programme is now uncertain.

insidethegames is currently attempting to get a response from the International Fencing Federation, while the International Weightlifting Federation have said they are "waiting for further developments" before making "any official move or communication".

Elsewhere in today's statement, SportAccord reiterated their "commitment to the World Combat Games and the unity of the Combat Sports Family", adding: "It is the spirit of honour and respect that allows the event to grow stronger, and for all stakeholders to gain mutual benefits."

This message was re-emphasised by Vizer himself, who outlined how the Games benefits all of the participating sports.

“This event it is aimed at generating benefits for International Federations in terms of exposure and financial revenues," he said.

"The value of such revenues in the original agreement is over $20 million (£12.7 million/€17.8 million), including dividends that will be paid to all participating IFs, their respective sports, but more importantly also to athletes via prize money: athletes whose participation, travel and accommodation are covered by the event."