BENGALURU: Exactly a week ago, Alibek Kachmazov encountered the war that his country, Russia, had unleashed on neighbouring Ukraine, a war that has caused tens of thousands of deaths. The 20-year-old was playing in the Chennai Open qualifiers and was up against Ukrainian Vladyslav Orlov. After Kachmazov’s victory, Orlov refused a handshake. “I think Russian and Belarusian players should be banned until their country stops invading other countries,” he had told this newspaper.