MINSK, 24 March (BelTA) – Belarus and its partners are considering a possibility to arrange alternative international sporting events, Belarusian Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk said at the meeting to discuss Belarus' performance at the 2022 Winter Olympics and prospects of winter sports in Belarus, BelTA has learned.
The minister emphasized that today sport is a big politics. The world is changing very fast. “Amidst hostility and outright speculations we, in collaboration with our partners, are working on holding alternative international sporting events,” Sergei Kovalchuk said.
“Given that most of the partner countries are members of the CIS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, we and our Russian counterparts have begun to work on bringing such countries as China, India, Pakistan, Mongolia and others to participate in these sporting events,” the minister continued. Invitations might also be sent to friendly nations of South America as well. It is also possible to arrange games of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Republic of South Africa).
According to the minister, such events will not only be a powerful instrument to promote a healthy lifestyle, but will also help to effectively use and improve the existing sports infrastructure, including in the regions.
To illustrate his point, Sergei Kovalchuk mentioned the 2023 CIS Games. According to the minister, there are proposals to hold this event annually.
In the coming days, meetings will be held with representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee and the NOC of Belarus, the ministries of sports of the two countries, sports federations.
“Unfortunately, sport does not produce immediate results. It is about hard work and patience. We see the bottlenecks and understand how to run the training process and what we still need to improve,” Sergei Kovalchuk assured.
