As reported by Filipino publication Business Mirror on November 5, an article stated that an executive director of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Guillermo Iroy, had called into question the legality of the travel from the Philippines to Novi Sad in Serbia.

According to Iroy, the PSC asked Tancontian for health clearances and a letter of approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), but reportedly did not receive the requested documents.

"We did not issue a travel order," Iroy said to Business Mirror.

"They [Philippine Sambo Federation] asked for a travel order from the PSC, but we required them to submit health clearances because the IATF has yet to allow competitions in amateur sports."

Tancontian went on to compete in both the junior and senior women's 80+ kilogram category, winning a bronze medal in the latter.

In a letter to FIAS President Vasily Shestakov, PSF President Paolo A. Claudio stated that the original article may have been written to "spark controversy" and told the PSF's recollection of events.

"As of October 21 2020, IATF, the Philippine Government agency in-charge of COVID-19 guidelines and policies has lifted the restrictions of non-essential outbound travel for Filipinos travelling on tourist or short-term visitor visas in which our sports ministry had no clear implemented policies for National Sports Federations to follow," said Claudio.

"Sydney Sy has secured all requirements necessary for her to make the trip to Serbia on time and had she lacked mandatory travel documents, our immigration officials would have not allowed her to depart the Philippines."

A similar sentiment was then echoed by the FIAS, who said they trusted the letter sent to Shestakov.

"We believe the statement that was sent by the organisation, we don't have any doubt and Sydney confirmed to us that there were no rules that had been broken; so we will not investigate further and we have to believe what she said and what the Federation said," a FIAS spokesperson told insidethegames.

"We just want her to also feel comfortable that there are no accusations or anything [from FIAS] of her cheating.

"She respects the rules and the values of sambo."

The first global sambo tournament to be held since the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the World Sambo Championships and Youth and Junior World Sambo Championships were held over four days together in Serbia.

The youth and junior competition was always set for Novi Sad, but the World Sambo Championships also moved to Serbia after 2020 hosts Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, pulled out.