15 September 2023

Sports at the EEF: Presentation of the World Friendship Games, 20 Participating Countries, and 700 Runners

The Eastern Economic Forum presented some of the largest sports projects that will take place in Russia in 2024 with the support of the Roscongress Foundation.

Opening the ‘Sport in the Far East’ session, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin said that President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has given instructions to make sure the prize money at the World Friendship Games, which will be held in September 2024, will be similar to that of the Olympic Games. If a non-Russian athlete wins a medal, he/she will also receive payments like an Olympic medallist.

Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin stressed that the BRICS Games will be held in Kazan in an open international format for all countries. In the future, countries that assume the BRICS presidency will host competitions.

The discussion was also attended by Acting Chair of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Galina Izotova; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Delo Group of Companies, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Handball Federation of Russia Sergey Shishkarev; Head of the Russian Motorsport Development Programme of SMP Racing Boris Rotenberg; Seven-Time Olympic Champion in Synchronized Swimming Svetlana Romashina, and Russian Rowing Federation President Alexey Svirin.

During the EEF, Romashina was announced as the first ambassador of the World Friendship Games based on an agreement signed at the project’s booth.

“The Forum’s sports agenda has been completely synchronized with that of the government. The best evidence of this was that during the plenary session, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed such issues as international cooperation in sports, support for athletes, Russian super projects in 2024, and e-sports. A discussion on these issues had been previously been held during the ‘Sport in the Far East’ session. In addition, as a result of collaboration between the Ministry of Sport, the Roscongress Foundation, and sports federations, the EEF has become a platform for dialogue with business, the presentation of new sports, and the introduction of international tournaments,” Centre for Athletic Training of Russian National Teams Director Georgy Bryusov said.

The discussions about sports continued at the pavilion of the Ministry of Sports at the ‘Far East Street’ exhibition. The international tournaments held during the EEF Sports Games provided successful examples of how the issues that were discussed are being implemented.

Athletes from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Cuba won the second international rowing tournament in Novik Bay. The dry rowing competition was won by two-time European champion Anastasia Tikhanova and European Championship medallist Filipp Paukov.

The EEF Cup chess tournament was also held in an international format. Vladislav Artemiev, the winner of the World Team Chess Championship, finished first in the tournament, while 17-year-old Indian prodigy Raunak Sadhwani, who became a grandmaster at age 13, won bronze.

The international mas-wrestling tournament for the Kolmar CC Cup featured athletes from 19 countries. A draw was held to place the participants into eight teams, which were named after different types of Far Eastern fauna. The Yakut national sports tournament supported the EEF tradition of combining the themes of sports and ecology.

The Go All-Star Game added an oriental flavour to the EEF Sports Games. The tournament was held in a two-on-two format and culminated with a Russia-China showdown featuring members of the two countries’ national teams, Ilya Shishkin and Natalya Kovaleva (Russia), and Wu Xinyu and Qu Danyun (China). The Chinese athletes ultimately won the tournament.

Per tradition, the EEF prepared an extensive programme for the Forum participants. More than 700 people took part in the ‘We Preserve’ race in support of the Russian president’s programme for the conservation of the Kamchatka gyrfalcon. Olympic tennis medallist Nadezhda Petrova handled the warm-ups before the start of the race. The world’s former third ranked tennis player also shared some of the secrets of her skills with young tennis players from Primorye at the EEF.

Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin, Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin, and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Russian Table Tennis Federation President Alexander Babakov took part in the Evening Table Tennis League along with other EEF participants. In addition, tournaments were held for the Roscongress Cup in chess and the game Go, in addition to a session of simultaneous blind play with international grandmaster Pavel Ponkratov.

The water sports programme was expanded at the EEF 2023. The picturesque waters of Vladivostok hosted the Parade of Sails, the final round of the Vedomosti Business Regatta, and the Roscongress Cup sailing regatta in the Platu 25 class. Making their debut in the Forum’s sports programme were the ‘Russian Grand Prix 2023’ Russian Cup in Aquabike and the spectacular Hydroflight show.

The EEF Sports Games programme was assembled by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian Ministry of Sport.

For all news related to EEF 2023 sporting events, please visit: https://t.me/Sport_Roscongress.

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