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.
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.
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.
A week after gaining provisional recognition from the IOC, Kosovo is already preparing in earnest for the 2016 Olympics.
Swimmers and table tennis players are in training as Kosovo gets ready to send an independent team to the games in Rio de Janeiro.
Memli Krasniqi, Kosovo's minister of culture, youth and sports, says "now our athletes will be able to represent their country, represent their flag and compete with their national anthem."