15 September 2023
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.