Malaysia's athletes will not be required to boycott Paris 2024 if Russian or Belarusian athletes are included, the country's Sports Minister has confirmed ©Getty Images

Malaysia has ruled out boycotting the Paris 2024 Olympics if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said Malaysia will send its athletes to both the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the New Straits Times reports.

"We made this decision because sports is above politics," said Yeoh at a Road to Gold media conference in Putrajaya. having consulted with the Olympic Council of Malaysia.

Malaysia was one of the 65 countries which boycotted the Moscow 1980 Olympics following the ill-fated Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Ukraine's Government officially announced on March 30 that athletes from the country will not participate in any qualifying events for next year's Olympic Games in Paris where there are Russians competing.

Meanwhile a group of more than 30 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Poland and New Zealand have signed a joint statement urging clarity from the IOC on its definition of neutrality.

The IOC has yet to decide whether it will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at Paris 2024 following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Malaysian athletes will compete at Paris 2024 even if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate in any form, the country's Sports Minister has confirmed ©Getty Images
Malaysian athletes will compete at Paris 2024 even if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate in any form, the country's Sports Minister has confirmed ©Getty Images

But its Executive Board issued a recommendation last week that they should be allowed to compete as individual neutrals in other international competitions, provided they do not support the war or have an affiliation to the military.

This will allow them to compete in Olympic qualifying competitions, if the individual sports adhere to the IOC line.

A number of international sports federations have said they will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into their competitions under conditions of neutrality, including most recently World Taekwondo and the International Table Tennis Federation.

Yeoh has also announced the list of athletes preparing for Paris 2024 within the Road to Gold project.

It includes 11 badminton players - Lee Zii Jia, Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Ong Yew Sin, Teo Ee Yi, Pearly Tan, Thinaah Muralitharan, Tan Kian Meng, Lai Pei Jing, Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai.

Also on the list are track cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Shah Firdaus Sahrom Awang and divers Pandalela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri.