In a modest gym in the heart of Kyiv, boxer Anna Lysenko dedicates long hours preparing for next year's Paris Olympics despite the unsettling sounds of explosions booming outside.Related video above: These Ukrainian women are using sport to stay connected to homeLysenko already has Olympic experience, nearly winning a medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but her training routine this time has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine 맥스카지노� that started nearly 17 months ago when Russia invaded her country.In a well-lit, spacious gym with high windows, she often hears bombs exploding outside as the capital remains a target for the Russian army.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s stifling. It probably doesn맥스카지노�t allow me to feel at peace, to train and prepare in a measured way,맥스카지노� Lysenko said, wearing an orange sports jacket with 맥스카지노�Tokyo 2020" on the back, reminiscent of a calmer training routine.맥스카지노�Constant shelling, or other stresses associated with the situation in the country, always seem to be present.맥스카지노�Despite these challenges, the 31-year-old Lysenko refuses to give up on her training. She has already sacrificed almost 10 years of her life for the sport, reaching the quarterfinals in Tokyo but missing out on an Olympic medal after losing to the eventual gold medalist. Knowing the Paris Games may be her last, she perseveres, training six days a week hoping to get better, to get faster, to win.Her chances of competing in Paris, however, remain uncertain.Ukrainian athletes have in recent weeks missed world or European championship events in judo, fencing and taekwondo, where Russians and Belarusians were allowed to compete after being approved as neutral athletes.Last week, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach criticized the Ukrainian government for blocking some athletes from qualifying events for the 2024 Games that also included Russians and Belarusians.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any neutral flag is stained with blood and invited Bach in January to join him in visiting the wrecked city of Bakhmut.The IOC and Bach shaped the definition of neutrality in March 맥스카지노� not publicly supporting the war, nor being contracted to the military since February last year, competing without a flag, anthem or national colors 맥스카지노� that sports governing bodies must decide how or if to apply.맥스카지노�This is very bad,맥스카지노� Lysenko said about the neutral flag for Russians and Belarusians.As a Ukrainian athlete, she finds it 맥스카지노�very unpleasant맥스카지노� that citizens of Russia will have the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. Despite the neutral flag, she said, the athletes 맥스카지노�are citizens of their own country, they represent it.맥스카지노�The IOC took a tough position on Russia within days of the war starting, urging sports bodies to exclude athletes and officials from international events and strip the country of hosting rights.However, as the Paris Olympics approached, the IOC moved toward letting some Russians into competition and Bach said excluding athletes based just on their passport would be discrimination and a breach of their human rights.For Lysenko, such a decision by the IOC means that Ukrainian athletes have to compete in an 맥스카지노�unequal battle맥스카지노� with citizens of a country that started a war in her homeland.맥스카지노�Because there, athletes can train in peace, nobody is shelling them, they don맥스카지노�t lose their loved ones, acquaintances, friends. They don맥스카지노�t lose them in the war,맥스카지노� she said.맥스카지노�For every professional athlete, the Olympics are the pinnacle of their sporting journey,맥스카지노� Lysenko added. 맥스카지노�As an athlete, I can understand that. But as a person ... When you witness the sorrow of your loved ones, it맥스카지노�s very difficult to accept.맥스카지노�She recalls how last autumn, on the day when she and her team were supposed to leave for the European Championships in Montenegro, Russia launched one of many missile attacks at Kyiv. At that moment, Lysenko was at the Olympic base near the capital.맥스카지노�And there you could really hear those explosions, there was such a shaking there, and we had to leave in literally two or three hours that day,맥스카지노� she recalled. 맥스카지노�How to leave your family in such a condition, when something like that is happening 맥스카지노� It맥스카지노�s stressful.맥스카지노�Even when she is abroad for competitions, her thoughts are still anchored to events in Ukraine.During the most difficult periods, Lysenko didn't stop training. During the winter, when Russia was bombarding Kyiv and the rest of the country with dozens of rockets almost every week to destroy the energy infrastructure, Lysenko continued to train even without electricity.맥스카지노�It was very challenging,맥스카지노� she said. 맥스카지노�We were starting to train a bit earlier to have some light from outside.맥스카지노�The decision of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee to boycott qualifying competitions involving Russians and Belarusians evokes conflicting emotions for Lysenko.맥스카지노�If they are already banning everyone and saying it맥스카지노�s a boycott, then it should apply to everyone,맥스카지노� she said, explaining that, for example, Ukrainian tennis players continue to participate in competitions with Russians and Belarusians.Under the circumstances that have arisen, Lysenko chooses to compete and fight.맥스카지노�We have our own sports frontline, and we need to go out there and win,맥스카지노� she said, adding 맥스카지노�it would be very disappointing맥스카지노� if she doesn맥스카지노�t go to the Olympics.맥스카지노�A lot of effort has already been put in to have it end like this, not being able to bring a medal for my country and once again represent our country to the whole Olympic world,맥스카지노� Lysenko said.For her, the Paris Games could be her last chance to compete at the Olympics. She will be 36 by the time the Los Angeles Games open in 2028.맥스카지노�I can still continue training, but I have my own plans on how to lead my life and develop in other areas," Lysenko said. "Not just in sports.맥스카지노�For now, she continues her training, even in periods when Kyiv is being attacked almost nightly by the Russians.맥스카지노�A person gets used to everything,맥스카지노� she said, noting her challenges pale in comparison to what Ukrainian soldiers endure.맥스카지노�When you think about how hard it is there, you realize that everything is great for you,맥스카지노� Lysenko said. 맥스카지노�And we will keep working here because they are doing everything there to allow us to do our job here, in the rear.맥스카지노�