NEW DELHI, Aug ⁠19 (Reuters) - For Ukrainian shuttlers Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr, competing at ⁠the ongoing World Championships in New Delhi is a way to ‌showcase the resilience of acountry battling the invasion by Russia.

Lives have been turned upside down sinceRussia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and as for many of her compatriots, ​the conflict remains an everyday reality for Buhrova.

"It's ⁠still really, really bad," the ⁠Kharkiv-born player told reporters.

"It's really hard, but that also gives me a lot ⁠of ‌power and I'm really proud to represent my country as a fighter, and show how Ukraine is fighting, believing and growing."

Buhrova said ⁠elite training had become impossible in Ukraine, forcing the national ​squad to find ‌a base in Italy.

"When the war started, I was in Ukraine," she ⁠said. "We were ​practising under the bombs. An alarm would go and you needed to throw everything on the floor and run to the shelter."

Her doubles partnerKantemyr, who left Ukraine as ⁠a teenager and is also now based in ​Italy, said being able to compete internationally carried added significance.

"We're happy that we can represent (Ukraine) at a high level and show good results and make the country ⁠proud," she said.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, a significant step towards Russia's return ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Kantemyr called it "a big mistake" by the IOC, adding ​she held nothing personal against individual competitors.

IOC President Kirsty ⁠Coventry has said athletes should not be held accountable for the actions of ​their governments and that the Olympic body would ‌continue supporting Ukraine while not condoning war.

The ​World Championships run through August 23 in New Delhi.

(Writing by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and David Holmes)