The two-day athletics tournament held as part of the BRICS Games concluded on Sunday at the Central Stadium in Kazan.
The men’s gold medal winners on the final day were Konstantin Krylov (200 m running), Artyom Makarenko (110 m hurdling), Konstantin Plokhotnikov (3,000 m steeplechase), Sergey Kozhevnikov (10,000 m sports walking), Boris Bezdolnyi (javelin throwing), Aleksey Khudyakov (discus throwing), Dmitriy Chizhikov (triple jump), Mikhail Shmykov (pole vault), and Stepan Kekin (decathlon). The Russian men’s team won the 4×400 m relay race. Dzmitry Savin of Belarus won the 800 m running.
“The only thing I didn’t like was my final place and the result of 13.70 seconds, but otherwise the competition is excellent. In terms of organisation, it’s a real class act”, said Sergey Shubenkov, 2015 World Champion, who came in second in the 110 m hurdling. “Obviously, the scale is a bit smaller than in Paris, but it’s impossible to tell the difference regarding the rest.”
“I’m very happy with my performance: a win against great competitors with my best result of the season”, said Konstantin Krylov, who won the 200 m running. “Speaking about the BRICS Games overall, I’m really impressed. As I was running, I noticed there was not a single athlete from Russia or Belarus but me. It’s very fascinating, in the warm-up already you can see different mentality, different cultures. These are the first international competitions in my career.”
In the women’s event, the Russian athletes: Natalya Kombarova (200 m running), Svetlana Aplachkina (1,500 m running), Lyubov Dubrovskaya (5,000 m running), Elena Sokolova (long jump), Mariia Kochanova (high jump), and Elizaveta Slobodyanyuk (heptathlon) became the BRICS Games champions. The Russian women’s team was the first in the 4×400 m relay race. Belarus’ top medals came from Elvira Hrabarenka (100 m hurdling), Anastasiya Maslova (hammer throwing), and Aliona Dubitskaya (shot put).
“This is my first competition of this level; the excitement was palpable. I felt like it was not just a responsible start, but a real holiday, spreading a cheerful mood. I was very happy when I found out that the BRICS Games would be held in Kazan. I have a lot of relatives and friends here who can come and root for me. I could feel their energy, so I wanted to show great results”, said Yuliya Sokhatskaya, who finished second in the heptathlon.
Following the results of the BRICS Games athletics competitions, athletes from Russia won 33 gold, 25 silver, and 23 bronze medals. Athletes from Belarus have 9 gold, 13 silver, and 9 bronze medals. Athletes from China (2 silver, 1 bronze); Brazil (1 silver, 2 bronze); South Africa (1 silver); India (3 bronze); Eritrea, Burkina Faso, and Kyrgyzstan (all with 1 bronze each) achieved prize-winning places as well.
The BRICS Games badminton competition has come to an end. The strongest badminton players: Sergey Sirant and Evgeniya Kosetskaya, participants of the Olympic Games; Alina Davletova, International Master of Sport; and Artur Pechenkin, Master of Sport, competed in the Finals.
In the Mixed Doubles Finals, Gleb Stepakov and Alina Davletova defeated Vladislav Dobychkin and Mariya Golubeva 2:0 (21:13, 21:18) in a difficult match. In the Singles Finals, Sergey Sirant was stronger than Artur Pechenkin with a 2:0 score (21:14, 21:13), whereas Evgeniya Kosetskaya beat Mariya Golubeva in a challenging struggle – 2:1 (15:21, 21:8, 21:13).
“So happy that I won; I proved that I can still do it. I’m glad that I managed to control my emotions and prevail. I was very nervous at the beginning. The shuttlecock was flying off, I didn’t realise it straight away and made some mistakes. Masha’s game was very powerful and strong. I advise her not to stop and to keep fighting. The organisation of the BRICS Games is amazing: great court, delicious food – everything is great, everyone is very friendly”, Evgeniya Kosetskaya said after winning the final.
Lastly, the spectators cheered at the doubles matches. For men, Artur Pechenkin and Gleb Stepakov confidently defeated Pavel Monich and Sergey Sirant with a 2:0 score (21:15, 21:7), while for women, Alina Davletova and Evgeniya Kosetskaya beat Daria Kharlampovich and Galina Lisochkina in a tenser match – 2:1 (21:8, 10:21, 21:5).
“All that was ventured, all was gained. The result is really good, everything’s incredible. It’s a great end to the matches.
The BRICS Games is an outstanding international tournament. Experiencing the whole atmosphere of these competitions is very important”, said Artur Pechenkin and Gleb Stepakov.
The BRICS Games diving competitions have started at the Aquatics Palace. They will last from 16 to 18 June.
Athletes from Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Thailand, Belarus, and Uzbekistan took part in three-metre springboard diving. The first gold medal in this discipline went to Nikita Shleikher of Russia (529.80 points), the silver was won by Jesus Eduardo Gonzalez Reyes of Venezuela (434.20), and the bronze went to Aleksandr Cherepakhin, Nikita’s compatriot, (430.35).
Next, the spectators observed the women’s ten-metre platform diving, where gold and silver were won by the athletes from Russia: Victoriia Kazantseva (345.10 points) and Iuliia Timoshinina (305.70)
The day ended with mixed three-metre platform diving. Gold medals went to Russia thanks to Ilia Molchanov and Elizaveta Kuzina (307.80 points), silver to Brazil (272.70), and bronze to Belarus with 253.74 points.
Three sets of medals will also be awarded in the men’s (10-metre platform), women’s (3-metre springboard), and mixed (10-metre platform) events on Monday.
The second day of the phygital basketball saw the leaders in both groups. Brazil scored two solid wins over Cuba (42:19) and UAE (42:13), while Uzbekistan defeated the Republic of Srpska 24:23 in a tight contest, and the two countries now lead Group A with three wins without defeat.
“We’ve seen the Cuban team playing before and realised that they would beat us on the court, so we tried our best to develop an advantage in the digital stage, and we succeeded. Further on the court, we just tried to keep the gap”, said Mattos Da Silva Santos Luiz Guilherme, a player from Brazil.
Russia had the best game of the day in Group B with 28:24 against Armenia and 40:9 against Colombia. “Everything’s great. We couldn’t try out some of our moves, but it doesn’t really matter. The main thing is that we won”, said Yuriy Bespalov, Russian team player. Furthermore in this Group, Abkhazia beat Colombia 25:18, but then lost to Belarus 12:29. Thus, Russia leads with three wins, while Belarus is in second place with two wins in two games.
The BRICS Games rowing competitions reached its finale. They lasted four days with more than 150 athletes from ten countries competing for awards.
The most “crowded” heats, quadruple sculls and eights, were held on the final day. In both women’s disciplines, the Russian athletes showed an extremely confident performance: they overpowered their opponents in the deciding races by more than clear five seconds. As a result, Anastasiia Lyubich, Maria Botalova, Tatiana Ustselemova, and Kira Yuvchenko became the BRICS Games champions in the quadruple sculls. “We got the best placing imaginable. It’s super cool to be here, but now we can proudly go home“, Kira Yuvchenko remarked. “I wish the BRICS Games further development, and I will be happy to participate in them over and over again.”
The second gold medal of the final day went to the Russian women’s eight. But in men’s heats the leaders changed: both quadruple sculls and eight disciplines were dominated by the athletes from Belarus, while the Russians got silver.
“We expected to win. We’ve been racing with these guys for several years, and experience has proven that we know how to be the first. It was a pleasure to compete, everything was very exciting. Any medal, especially a gold one, is important and extremely significant. The more so at such awesome Games. We liked the organisation very much, we were happy to be here”, said the winners from the Belarusian team in the men’s quadruple four: Pavel Sinenka, Mikalai Sharlap, Dzianis Kucharau, and Mikhail Ivanchykau.
Table tennis competitions came to an end at the Boxing and Table Tennis Centre. In the men’s singles Finals, Kirill Skachkov beat Vladimir Sidorenko 3:2 in a tight match, while Mariya Tailakova defeated Elizabet Abraamian 3:1 by games in the women’s Finals.
“I was well prepared for the final match. I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, the game; I just needed to act confidently. I gained revenge on Elizabet: I’m glad that I won, as we met for the seventh time this year. I stayed very calm and tried to not let emotions get the best of me. The second gold medal at the BRICS Games is a very good result, I think it’s very respectable”, Mariya Tailakova, the top-rated player of Russia, shared her feelings on the results of the Finals.
The group stage of the tennis team competitions concluded in Kazan Tennis Academy.
In men’s events, the top-ranked teams of Russia and Belarus, as well as the second-ranked teams of Uzbekistan and India, reached the play-offs.
For women, the teams of Russia and Belarus have reached the Semi-Finals ahead of schedule, while the teams of Iran and the Republic of Srpska, as well as India and Uzbekistan will be competing for the two remaining places. They will play their matches on Monday.
“I have only good things to say. We won all three matches at the group stage, scoring 3:0 each game. Having won the singles match today, I went to the doubles almost immediately. I’m glad that my team did well, we pulled through the group stage and went from the first place to the Semi-Finals. I believe that the teams of Russia and Belarus should clash in the Finals for the right to become the BRICS Games champions.
The organisation is at the highest level, I’m honoured to participate in competitions of such level; I really enjoyed the Opening Ceremony. Safety, multiple meals, access to water at every corner in such hot weather: huge respect to the organisers”, commented Mikhail Dubrouski, a tennis player from Belarus.
The BRICS Games wushu competitions saw their final bouts.
Today brought two gold medals each for Russia and China in Taolu: Ivan Krasnobaev and Anastasia Kadenova, along with Guanglin Yang, who earned two medals at once. Darya Latisheva (Uzbekistan) and Zahra Kiani (Iran) each won a gold medal.
In Sanda, Chinese athletes won four golds, Iran took the top three honours, and Russia took two titles. One of them was in the men’s 56 kg category where Arsen Umalatov defeated Sunil Singh Mayanglambam of India.
“I’d be lying if I said it was easy. I missed in the second round. The opponent was experienced. But I succeeded”, Arsen Umalatov stated. “The BRICS Games is an amazing competition for me, a great start of my sporting career. The support was overwhelming. I did my best for Russia.”
In the end, Russian athletes won 14 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals at the wushu competitions. China got 14 gold medals, 4 silvers, and 3 bronzes. Iran rounded off the top three with 4-8-11.