Malaysia stripped of hosting 2019 World Para Swimming Championships

To optimise for archiving, the original image and related documents associated with this article have been removed.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have stripped Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships after the country banned Israeli athletes from participating.

Malaysia was due to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. However Malaysia, which is a majority Muslim country, announced this month that it would bar Israelis from any event held in the South-east Asia nation to stand in solidarity with Palestine..

In a statement, the IPC held the decision to strip Malaysia of the right to host the event was taken after the Home Ministry "failed to provide the necessary guarantees that Israeli Para swimmers could participate, free from discrimination, and safely in the Championships."

Despite the IPC's decision on Sunday, Malaysian officials defended the decision to bar Israelis, "If hosting an international sporting event is more important than standing up for our Palestinian brothers and sisters who get murdered, maimed and tortured by the Netanyahu regime, that means Malaysia has truly lost its moral compass," Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said in a statement.

Head of the IPC said, "Politics and sport are never a good mix and we are disappointed that Israeli athletes would not have been allowed to compete in Malaysia,". A new venue is to be sought for the same dates of the event which is due to run 29 July to 4 August. 

You may also like

View All

World Aquatics requests reassessment of neutral athlete ban ahead of Lublin 2025

World Aquatics has called on European bodies to reconsider the ban which prevents Russian athletes from competing as neutrals at the European Aquatics Swimming Short Course Championships in Lublin, Poland which will take place from 2-7 December 2025

Read More

World Athletics v Esther Gitahi

A decision in the case of World Athletics (WA) against Esther Gitahi has been issued by the World Athletics Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunal (DAT)

Read More

Australia denies visa to convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde ahead of Beach Volleyball World Championships

Convicted child rapist and Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was allowed to complete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, has been denied an Australian visa for the upcoming Beach Volleyball World Championships

Read More