Maksim Khramtsov of Russia's coach said the Olympic gold medallist missed the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Paris due to injury ©Getty Images

Russian Olympic gold medallists Maksim Khramtsov and Vladislav Larin were absent from the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Paris, despite controversially being cleared to compete by the governing body.

The omission of Khramtsov, the Tokyo 2020 winner in the men's under-80 kilograms category, has been blamed on injury.

"An injury the day before did not allow Maxim to compete at the Grand Prix stage," his coach Alexander Lashpanov told Russian state-run news agency TASS.

"He had surgery on his leg."

A reason has not been disclosed for Larin's non-participation, but insidethegames has sought an explanation from World Taekwondo.

Both athletes had been banned from the World Taekwondo Championships in Azerbaijan's capital Baku earlier this year, the first event where competitors from Russia and Belarus were able to return as individual neutrals provided they do not support the war in Ukraine and are not affiliated to the military.

Khramtsov and Larin had applications rejected for publicly backing Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, although still travelled to Baku without accreditation for the event.

Larin, Olympic champion in the men's over-80kg, has been accused of asking for donations to the Russian armed forces in a video and Khramtsov of using the military Z symbol on social media.

They both appeared on the entry list for the Grand Prix in Paris which concluded yesterday, after World Taekwondo said an "independent and external review" found "no new evidence of the athletes having contravened the conditions of participation", meaning a "three-month probation period for the sanctions" was not extended.

World Taekwondo has joined the majority International Federations in following the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) updated recommendations lifting an outright ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in favour of allowing those who meet required conditions to compete as neutrals.

The IOC claimed the World Taekwondo Championships was an example of where its stance "worked very well", after its President Thomas Bach attended the penultimate day.

Critics have argued the IOC's position is too soft in response to the war in Ukraine, and have raised concerns over how strictly the requirements are being enforced.

The IOC says it has not taken a decision on whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will be permitted at next year's Olympic Games in Paris.