MINSK, 17 May (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia will continue developing mutually beneficial cooperation in sport and organization of joint tournaments, Belarusian Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister Aleksandr Baraulya told a press conference on 17 May, BelTA has learned.
The sports ministries and athletes of the two countries have always closely cooperated. This cooperation will be even closer due to the completely unfair sanctions of the international federations, the deputy minister said. He recalled the recent joint board meeting of the sports ministries of Belarus and Russia, and the meeting of the Athletes Commissions of the Olympic committees of the two countries. A draft joint competition plan has been drawn up as a result of the meetings.
A number of tournaments featuring Belarusian and Russian athletes have been in recent months. The two countries hosted biathlon, hockey, volleyball, handball, judo, track cycling, karate, fencing, field hockey and winter Paralympic events. On 16 May the sailing competitions kicked off on Minskoye More. Very soon Moscow will be hosting the Poddubny wrestling league tournament, which will also feature representatives of other countries. “This is a high-level tournament, and in some disciplines it is more difficult to get into the top three than at the world or European championships,” Aleksandr Baraulya said.
In his words, attention will be paid not only to the sport of the highest achievements, but also to the joint training of the reserve, work with coaches of children's and youth sports schools, and the organization of various sporting mass participation events.
