VITEBSK, 11 April (BelTA) – Belarus won nine medals at the 14th Russia Open Sports Chanbara Championship, BelTA learned from Deputy Chairperson of the Belarusian Spochan Federation Violetta Grudskaya.
The competitions were held in Moscow on 9 April. “Taking part in the tournament were more than 200 athletes from Russian and Belarusian regions. It is the third time our federation has participated in the Russian championship. This time Belarus was presented by athletes from Vitebsk and Vitebsk Oblast, Brest, Mogilev and Minsk, a total of 38 athletes born in 1986-2009,” said Chairman of the Belarusian Spochan Federation Andrei Kalistov.
In Moscow the Belarusian athletes won four gold medals (Alexander Meshkov of Vitebsk (two), Roman Korchemkin of Mogilev and Kirill Streltsov of Minsk), three silver medals (Maria Tatarinova of Vitebsk, Roman Korchemkin and Kirill Streltsov), and two bronze medals (Valentin Khrapovitsky of Vitebsk). Alexander Meshkov of Vitebsk won the Grand Champion Cup.
Violetta Grudskaya said that the federations of the two countries support each other in the International Sports Chanbara Association. “Thanks to joint international events Belarus and Russia enjoy high respect among the member-states of the association. Besides, the general partner of the Belarusian Spochan Federation – Polesie Toys Factory – made its contribution to the prize fund of the competitions in Moscow,” said Violetta Grudskaya.
Sports chanbara (spochan) is a modern type of Japanese martial arts, a safe method of sword fencing. This sport is steadily gaining popularity with school students in different cities of Belarus. Spochan clubs have been recntly opened in Chashniki, Dokshitsy, Sharkovshchina and Glubokoye of Vitebsk Oblast.
In 2019 Belarus will host the European Sports Chanbara Championship. In August 2017 Vitebsk Oblast will play host to the 2nd interactive project Belarusian Summer 2017 which program will include the international spochan tournament Belarus Open 2016. The festival will feature teams from Belarus, Russia, Japan, Italy, France, Estonia, Ukraine and other countries.
