World champion Hergie Bacyadan of the Philippines assailed the Russian national squad for questioning her gender and filing a protest to nullify her gold-medal victory in the just-concluded World Vovinam Championship in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
“I, Hergie Tao-Wag Bacyadan, stand against the protest of the Russian National Team about my sexual reproduction and identity. I strongly condemn their accusation about me being a “MAN” when I’m (was) born FEMALE,” said Bacyadan in a long social media post.
“The strength and skills I have were purely acquired through my hard work, perseverance and commitment to my country. Additionally, I may be born FEMALE, but my sexual orientation is I’m attracted to women which I believe shouldn’t discriminate my qualification to become an athlete.”
Bacyadan, a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, hacked out a 10-0 shutout win over Mariana Abdeenko of Russia in the final tournament for the gold medal in this Vietnamese combat sport that combines the techniques in judo, boxing, and taekwondo.
On Friday, the Russian vovinam team submitted a written protest to the 7th World Vovinam Championships organizing committee claiming that Bacyadan is a “man”, even as it is also requesting to “cancel the result of the final match which the Philippines won fairly in the match. And to add more, they are requesting the WVVF to ban our athletes from any competitions for life.”
The Vovinam Pilipinas Federation has asked the organizing committee to “not entertain Russia’s baseless and non-factual accusations.”
“The Philippines strongly condemns these accusations by Russia. We will not stop until this issue is cleared. This is discrimination to (against) the LGBTQ community in the world, where in sports, we should treat every athlete fairly. In respect, this is a very big disrespect to the Republic of the Philippines as a country where everybody is treated equally.”
Bacyadan, who has previously represented wushu and sanda in international competitions for the last 10 years in the women’s division said: “Never in my entire career have I taken or injected male hormones nor undergone surgical just to have a masculine physique for I am completely aware that this will possibly disqualify me in international games.”