MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) - Belarusian athletes will take part in the Alternative Paralympic Games "We are Together. Sport" in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia on 16-21 March, Belarusian First Deputy Sport and Tourism Minister Vyacheslav Durnov told the media on 10 March, BelTA has learned.
The Paralympic teams of Belarus and Russia, which were banned from the 13th Winter Paralympic Games for far-fetched reasons, will take part in the alternative event in the capital of Yugra. It is possible that other countries will join the games as well. According to Vyacheslav Durnov, the Belarusian side has been actively communicating with Russian colleagues these days, discussing all the details of the upcoming competitions. Belarus will field the same athletes who were supposed to compete at the Beijing Paralympic Games. Belarusians will compete in cross-country skiing and biathlon. The program will also feature curling, snowboarding, alpine skiing and sledge ice hockey.
Nikolai Shudeiko, the chef de mission for Team Belarus at the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games, emphasized that these competitions would become some sort of compensation for the physical and moral expenses and losses that the Belarusian and Russian Paralympians experienced and suffered from.
An organizing committee has been set up for the event. Yugra has an excellent infrastructure for winter sports. The sport facilities meet all the international standards and are used by Russian national teams.
