Krystsina Tsimanouskaya expected to head to Poland amid fears she would be punished if she returned home

The Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has left Japan on a Vienna-bound plane after refusing to return to Belarus because she feared she would face punishment for publicly criticising her coaches for their “negligence”.

Tsimanouskaya has received a humanitarian visa from Poland after she said Belarus officials attempted to bundle her on a plane. She requested police protection at Haneda airport and later took refuge at the Polish embassy in Tokyo in a scandal that has rocked the games.

Related: Belarus sprinter faces long exile in Poland after seeking refuge