“Impact on their athletes”: in Russia they commented on Ukraine’s decision not to send an official delegation to the boxing World Cup

In September, Yekaterinburg will host the 20th anniversary boxing world championship. Almost all the strongest athletes of the planet will traditionally perform at it, and domestic athletes will make every effort to rehabilitate themselves for failure at the tournament two years ago. Then the wards of Eduard Kravtsov took only one silver and one bronze each, repeating their own 1999 anti-record.

However, the composition of the upcoming World Cup may be incomplete. The day before, the press service of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine reported that they were not going to send an official delegation to Yekaterinburg.

“The members of the national team of Ukraine who took part in the last European Games, the European Championship in Kharkov, those guys who are the first or second numbers of the national team, will definitely not take part in the [world championship on the territory] of Russia,” he quotes “ Interfax ”, the head of the press service of the FBU, Alexander Podavalenko.

Thus, the world championship in Russia is guaranteed to be missed by at least four well-known Ukrainian boxers who have successfully performed at the 2019 European Games. So, Alexander Khizhnyak and Viktor Vykhrist returned from Minsk with gold medals, and Nikolai Butsenko and Evgeny Barabanov won silver and bronze, respectively.

At the same time, Podavalenko added that other athletes will be able to go to the championship. True, for this they will need to pay for their trip to Yekaterinburg on their own, as well as to take on other expenses.

Earlier, the General Secretary of the Boxing Federation of Russia, Umar Kremlev, said that the Ukrainian team confirmed its participation in the competition, and its boxers will be represented in all eight weight categories.

“I don’t see the reasons why they may have some difficulties with coming to Russia. This is our brotherly people, and boxing unites us, ”Kremlyova quotes TASS.

It is noteworthy that initially, five countries claimed to hold the 2019 World Boxing Championship, among which were Russia and Ukraine. The FBU was determined to invite all the strongest to Kiev, and considered its successful experience in organizing the championship of the continent of 2017 as its trump card in the fight.

It is worth recalling that the tournament was remembered by the incident, at the epicenter of which was the Russian delegation. Then boxer Georgy Kushitashvili, two coaches, as well as Federation press attaché Vlad Romanov, fans and journalists were not allowed into Ukraine, and then deported to their homeland.

As it turned out, the reason for the refusal of entry was “violation of the order of entry into the Crimea” and the subsequent deprivation of the right to visit Ukraine for three years. Muslim Gadzhimagomedov went to Kharkov as a substitute for Kushitashvili, and George himself lost not only the right to speak at the European Championships, but also lost his chances to take part in the world championship. To win a ticket to the tournament in Hamburg, he needed to get to the finals.

In recent years, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly called for a boycott of the largest competitions held in Russia: it is enough to recall the events surrounding the World Cup, as well as the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk. True, in both cases this did not have an effect, and the mundial received completely rave reviews from both fans and functionaries.

In addition, in 2018, biathletes received a ban on participating in the World Cup in Tyumen, and wrestlers at the European Championship in Kaspiysk. And this despite the fact that many expressed a desire to represent their country in tournaments, but could not do it.

“Everyone, and above all, Ukrainian athletes, are tired of all kinds of political cataclysms. This is not the first time that their performance in Russia is under threat. Do colleagues from Ukraine not understand who they are doing worse? The athlete dreams all his life to take part in the championships of Europe and the world. What difference does it make, what kind of relations between states does he have to defend the honor of his country at international starts. By such a decision, the management of the FBU only makes their boxers worse, ”said Dmitry Svishchev, a deputy of the State Duma, to RT.

According to him, the proposal to athletes to go to Russia at their own expense is "utter stupidity."

“To send boxers to Russia is not so much money. Tickets to Australia would be much more expensive. Local athletes are one of the most titled and famous in the world. They have a chance to adequately perform at the championship and glorify their power. The government’s refusal to pay is a blow to their country and athletes, ”concluded Svishchev.

As the former world boxing champion in heavy weight, State Duma deputy Nikolai Valuev admitted, it was not a surprise for him to decide not to send an official delegation to Yekaterinburg.

“In recent years, Ukraine has become so hot that it has ceased to amaze anyone. It is enough to recall what they did to the Russian language. The FBU cannot think of athletes, because everything is subordinated to the grotesque political process there, ”RT Valuev said.

He was also skeptical of the prospect that Ukrainians would be able to perform at the tournament at their own expense.

“The determining factor will be whether the Ukrainian boxers decide to go to Russia. The main thing is not money and desire, but the question of what will happen to them next. A voluntary trip to, as they say, an aggressor country can automatically put an end to an athlete’s career, ”Valuev concluded.