The Olympics offer every athlete an equal opportunity to fulfill their patriotic dreams. However, what happens when an athlete’s own country opposes their participation? That’s precisely what Joost Luiten, Dewi Weber, and Darius van Driel recently experienced. Despite being eligible to represent the Netherlands by qualifying through the OGR ranks, they were denied entry by the Dutch Sports Federation.

When questioned about their decision, the Dutch Sports Federation stated, “After a careful analysis of the results in golf, it has become clear that the requirement from the IOC does not provide sufficient prospect of achieving a position in the top eight of the field.” Surprisingly, they expressed doubt that these players have the potential to finish among the top eight at the Olympics.

However, Joost Luiten is refusing to back down and taking this matter further. Recently the six-time DP World Tour winner shared a post on Instagram captioning “I will be fighting the decision to not send me to the Olympics by the NOC NSF in court TODAY!” As it happened the golfer is receiving support from the community and the former World Supersport champion Michael van der Mark in the comment section. The former Supersport champion simply commented “LET’SGO” with a fire emoji possibly agreeing to the fact that Luiten fought for his right in an official way.

Luiten made the world aware of the Federation’s decision on Instagram a few days earlier and wrote, “I just don’t get it! Typically, Holland only understands typical Dutch sports, clearly not golf. So sad and painful.” Expressing sentiments on the matter, Dewi Weber also said, “Our own country is saying we don’t think you’re worthy of being an Olympian, and you’re not worthy of representing the Netherlands.”

In addition to van der Mark, Sky Sports Golf broadcaster Inci Mehmet also commented, “Yes, Joost, good luck! Rooting for you for the right outcome!!!” conveying her support for a positive result. Meanwhile, the Australian golfer Bernd Wiesberger also came forward with support and commented, “You tell them!” 

As Luiten’s post went viral online, both van der Mark and the community stood firmly in support of the golfer. The comment section was filled with a lot of support and appreciation for the golfer’s bold move.

Fans are supporting Joost Luiten’s decision

With no medals for the Netherlands in golf so far, one fan, while wishing good luck to the golfer, simply commented, “Go win the case and then a medal!” Meanwhile, others appreciated his decision to involve the court to secure rights for Dutch golfers, commenting, “Great news!!!! Come on.” The fans’ good wishes for the golfer winning the case came true, as in his next update, Luiten shared that he has won his court case and the Dutch Olympic Committee has until 5 PM to get him registered for Paris.

Meanwhile, some fans have already begun expressing hope for the outcome with comments such as “Best of luck, fingers crossed!” and “Success Joost!” They are likely wishing for the best, as the Olympics are less than a month away. The fans’ good wishes came true, and as for him, the Olympic rings were colored again because he won his case against the Federation.

Are you now excited to see how the Dutch golfers will fair in Paris now that their fight has turned out to be fruitful? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!