Poland starts asylum granting procedure to Belarusian sprinter, source

Poland has already started the procedure of granting asylum to Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who has refused to return to her homeland from the Olympic Games in Tokyo, according to a source quoted by the NHK Japanese television. Earlier on Monday, Reuters, quoting a member of the local Belarus community, reported that Tsimanouskaya had entered the Polish embassy in Tokyo in order to obtain political asylum in Poland. On Sunday night, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz wrote on Twitter that Tsimanouskaya has been "offered a humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she so chooses."