Belarusian Yahor Varapayeu is set to compete in the men's under-90 kilogram category in Doha ©Getty Images

Two Belarusian judoka are set to compete at this week’s World Judo Championships here after being permitted to return under a neutral banner.

Yahor Varapayeu is due to line-up in the men’s under-90 kilogram category, with Darya Kantsavaya poised to contest the women’s under-78kg division in Qatari capital Doha.

Ruslan Sharapov, secretary general of the Belarusian Judo Federation and coach of the national team, confirmed the inclusion of the pair for the event, scheduled to run from Sunday (May 7) to May 14.

He said that Varapayeu and Kantsavaya were the only two Belarusian judoka that were inside the top 100, with athletes from the country frozen out of international competition due to the war in Ukraine, as reported by Belarus' state-run news agency BelTA.

The admission of Varapayeu and Kantsavaya comes after the International Judo Federation (IJF) agreed to allow Russian and Belarusian judoka to return as individual neutral athletes for the World Championships which is a key event in qualification for next year’s Olympics in Paris.

Darya Kantsavaya, left, will hope to make the most of her opportunity to secure Paris 2024 qualification points following the readmission of Belarusians as neutrals ©IJF/YouTube
Darya Kantsavaya, left, will hope to make the most of her opportunity to secure Paris 2024 qualification points following the readmission of Belarusians as neutrals ©IJF/YouTube

Eight members of the delegation put forward by Russia and Belarus were excluded by the IJF after independent background checks were carried out in a bid to ensure no public support for the war in Ukraine.

However, the presence of Russia and Belarus has been slammed by the Ukrainian Judo Federation which opted to boycott the event in protest of the IJF’s decision.

The IJF is also facing accusations by Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Guttsait of an "unprecedented neglect of the Olympic Charter" by allegedly allowing military personal to compete at the World Championships.

Varapayeu and Kantsavaya will be hoping to seize their opportunity to earn valuable points in their quests to compete at Paris 2024.

Kantsavaya has won medals on the international stage, having claimed bronzes at the European Open in 2018 and 2019 and silver at the event in 2021.

Varapayeu's career highlights include winning golds at the European Open in 2017 and 2019, sealing silver at the IJF Grand Slam in Ekaterinburg in 2018 and bagging bronze at the IJF Grand Prix in Tashkent in 2017.

The 26-year-old also claimed silvers at the Under-23 European Championships in 2016 and 2017.

They are two of the 19 judoka that are set to participate as individual neutral athletes, including 17 Russians.