By JAMES MONTAGUEDEC. 15, 2014 PEJA, Kosovo — Up a steep hill on a narrow, unlit road in this town near the Montenegrin border, the Toni Kuka Judo School was filled with the smell of sweat, smoke and winter. Inside, 26 judokas dressed in blue or white uniforms arranged themselves in pairs around the blue-and-yellow tatami mat. The flags of Kosovo and Japan hung above a mirrored wall clouded in condensation. An old wood stove smoked heavily; it was fed fuel periodically by a young girl to keep the biting December cold at bay.

By Karolos Grohmann BERLIN Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:25pm EDT (Reuters) - Kosovo is on track to take part in its first ever Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 after the region in the Balkans was granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday. It could now achieve full membership as early as the IOC session in December, the IOC said in a statement on Wednesday. The decision angered Serbia's Olympic Committee which has lodged an official protest with the Olympic body. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after NATO went to war

The International Olympic Committee has granted full recognition to Kosovo, meaning the Balkan country can send an independent team to the 2016 Games in Rio. The IOC made the decision Tuesday, formally ratifying the provisional recognition granted in October by the executive board. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has refused to accept the breakaway province’s independence. The move to give Olympic recognition to Kosovo had been opposed by Serbian officials. Kosovo becomes the 205th national Olympic committee recognized by the IOC.