The BRICS Games rhythmic gymnastics competitions have concluded on Saturday. Fourteen sets of medals were awarded on the final day. The Russian and Belarusian teams won one gold medal each in senior group routines. In individual routines, Russian athletes: Anna Popova (ball, without apparatus), Lala Kramarenko (ribbon), Diana Chugunikhina (clubs), and Mariya Borisova (hoop), representing the “Sky Grace” team, became the champions.
“The atmosphere was incredible, such unbelievable support. This is the coolest thing that can happen to you in life. I probably won’t experience anything like this again. I’m happy with my result, as I was preparing for just a week, I was seriously ill and missed two starts. But Irina Viner [the President of “Sky Grace”] is well pleased. Then I’m also well pleased”, Anna Popova remarked.
“I wish the Games would continue further, I’m so sad that this holiday is ending. I’m not going to lie: it would’ve been cooler if there were more countries. Some of them withdrew from the competitions just a few days beforehand for their own reasons. It’s a pity; I wish there had been more athletes. But I’d like to say that it’s been a while since such tense events have taken place; the outcome was unclear up to the very end. We were kept in suspense during the junior and senior routines until the last second. It’s so refreshing and fascinating”, said Yana Batyrshina, five-time world rhythmic gymnastics champion.
Following the results of the rhythmic gymnastics competitions among juniors and seniors, the Russian national team won 15 gold and 2 silver medals. “Sky Grace” took 3 golds, 5 silvers, and 3 bronzes. Gymnasts from Belarus won 2 gold, 10 silver, and 6 bronze medals.
The men’s and women’s boxing Finals of the BRICS Games were held at Boxing and Table Tennis Centre.
The champions of the men’s event were Russians fighters: Vladimir Mnacakanyan (up to 48 kg), Bair Batlaev (up to 51 kg), Maksim Kuznecov (up to 54 kg), Andrey Peglivanyan (up to 57 kg), Ilya Popov (up to 63.5 kg), Sergey Sergeev (up to 75 kg), Beshto Shavlaev (up to 80 kg), and Vadim Scheblykin (up to 86 kg); as well as athletes from Uzbekistan: Shavkatjon Boltaev (up to 67 kg), Khavasbek Asadullaev (up to 71 kg), Madiyar Saydrakhimov (up to 92 kg), and Bakhodir Jalolov (92+ kg); and German Ardzhenia (up to 60 kg) from the Republic of Abkhazia.
“I’m pleased as punch to be a part of the BRICS Games; to perform under the flag of the Republic of Abkhazia; and to take gold. I made history and I’m very proud of myself. The final bout was hard, I was running out of energy: both physically and morally, but I managed to power through”, German Ardzhenia shared.
“These are some large-scale competitions, everything’s top-notch. We need to hold such events more often. As for the boxing tournament, there are a lot of capable athletes. I’m happy with my bout in the Finals”, Bair Batlaev said.
The Russian athletes: Anna Aedma (up to 52 kg), Lyudmila Voroncova (up to 57 kg), Nadezhda Golubeva (up to 60 kg), Alina Pushkar (up to 63 kg), Azalia Amineva (up to 66 kg), Elena Gapeshina (up to 75 kg), Saltanat Medenova (up to 81 kg), and Ksenia Olifirenko (81+ kg) became the champions among women, along with Minakshi (up to 48 kg) and Anamika (up to 50 kg) from India, Nigina Uktamova (up to 54 kg) from Uzbekistan, and Li Shu (up to 70 kg) from China.
Following the results of the boxing tournament, athletes from Russia won 24 medals (15 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze), athletes from Uzbekistan took 19 (5-6-8), athletes from India got 9 (2-3-4), and athletes from China won 7 (1-4-2).
The BRICS Games canoe sprint competitions have come to an end. Today saw the final 200- and 500-metre team heats, followed by the longest individual 5,000-metre heat.
The Belarusian team: Mikita Borykau, Uladzislau Kravets, Uladzislau Litvinau, and Dzmitry Natynchyk, took the first place in the quadruple kayaking. The same distance in canoeing was dominated by the Russians: Dmitriy Sharov, Mikhail Pavlov, Pavel Skryabin, and Aleksandr Bots. “Sure, the wind is a bit of a hindrance, but the scale and scope of the competitions is impressive, the international atmosphere here is noticeable. Kazan itself has the capacity to hold games of such standards, or even higher, depending on the number and level of participants. And now there is incredibly high competition in canoeing, guys from Belarus and Uzbekistan give excellent performances, the fact that there are so many world champions and Olympic medallists here speaks volumes”, the champions said.
Nadzeya Kushner, Marharyta Tkachova, Volha Khudzenka, and Maryna Litvinchuk from Belarus took first place in the women’s 500-metres canoeing. “The last time I was in Kazan was at the 2013 Universiade. I won four golds then, so now I wanted to show the same result, or maybe even surpass it. That being said, we usually aim not for gold, but for a good performance. So that we do it well and it results in a high score”, said Maryna Litvinchuk, three-time gold medallist of the current BRICS Games. “What’s important is us showing good seconds, which we can later compare to the level of the World and European Championships. I dedicate this medal to the Republic of Belarus and all our fans, all canoeing fans, and all sports lovers.”
Russian pair Anastasia Panchenko and Ivan Epishin won the 200-metres mixed kayaking. “We saw that a lot of crews from Belarus applied, they are all strong. They’re the elite of international rowing in general, we’re happy that they came so we can race with them. Obviously, we expected to win, but we understood that it’d be a hard fight until the very last metre”, said the winners. The same distance in canoeing was won by another Russian pair: Sergey Svinaryov and Ekaterina Shlyapnikova.
All the gold medals in 5,000-metres individual heats were won by athletes from Belarus. Uladzislau Kravets was the fastest in the men’s kayaking, while Ivan Patapenka was the first in canoeing. The women’s heats were dominated by Maryna Litvinchuk in kayaking and Katsiaryna Semiantsova in canoeing.
Following today’s victories, the Belarusian national team took the first place in the unofficial medal count: they have 16 gold, 14 silver, and 19 bronze medals. Uladzislau Kravets won five gold and one silver. Russia is in second place with 12-15-8, and Uzbekistan is third with one gold and two bronze medals.
The spectators saw the BRICS Games judo Finals, where seven more champions were determined.
Laziza Haydarova of Uzbekistan was the strongest in the women’s 48 kg category, defeating Shuaixia Han of China in the Finals. Glafira Borisova of Russia won gold in 52 kg, while Gulkhayo Juraeva of Uzbekistan took silver. Shirlen Thais Do Nascimento from Brazil won the gold medal in 57 kg. She beat Irina Zueva of Russia in the Finals.
Abas Azizov of Russia dominated the men’s 81 kg category: he beat Gabriel Falcao Lira of Brazil in the Finals. “It was hard, but all that matters is that I won. It was a fundamentally important start for me, which I was aiming to win, and everything worked out as planned. I’m happy with the victory, but not so much with the bout. The Games themselves are very cool, the organisation is like at the Olympics”, Abas Azizov commented.
Two athletes from Belarus met in the 90 kg category: Aliaksandr Sidoryk was stronger than his compatriot, Yahor Varapayeu. “The level of competitors was good. Everyone came to win and tried to give their best performances. I dedicate this victory to my wife”, Aliaksandr Sidoryk said after the Finals. “It’s not my first time in Kazan, I like this city, it’s one of the best in Russia. And I have only great things to say about the organisation, everything is amazing.”
Russia’s Niyaz Bilalov won the gold medal in the men’s 100 kg category, while Yijie Shen (China) took silver. Whereas the 100+ kg Finals were dominated by Lucas Antonio Martins Lima of Brazil, who defeated Aleksandr Shalimov of Russia. “It’s not every day that I can show off my strength and abilities and become a champion at such competitions. I’m at a loss for words to express all my feelings right now, this is the most important moment of my life. Each fight was difficult in its own way. Judo is like chess, where you act, make mistakes, and you have to correct them using your skills and stamina. I fought very well and I’m very happy about it”, the Brazilian remarked.
In the end, the Russians won the most medals in judo: five gold, three silver, and one bronze. Next comes Brazil with 3-3-4, as well as China and Belarus with two golds, two silvers, and one bronze each.
The final day of the fencing competitions took place at Saint Petersburg Volleyball Centre, where three sets of medals were awarded in foils and sabres for men and épée for women.
Russian national team (Yana Bekmurzova, Tatiana Gudkova, Ayzanat Murtazaeva, Milen Bavuge Khabimana) won gold in women’s épée tournament. The team defeated Belarus (Aliaksandra Tsurskaya, Agata Tsarkova, Katsiaryna Pasharneva, Valeryia Nikonova) with a 45:23 score in the Finals. The bronze medal went to the Indian team.
The teams of Russia (Anton and Kirill Borodachev, Timur Safin, Vladislav Zhuravlev) and Belarus (Uladzimir Butenka, Uladzislau Nikalayuk, Yahor Rabtsau, Heorhi Tkachenka) met in the men’s foil Finals as well. The Russians won again with a score of 45:11. The bronze medals went to the Indian team.
The competition day ended with the sabre Finals, where the Russian men’s team (Kirill Tyulyukov, Dmitrii Danilenko, Anatoliy Kostenko, Kamil Ibragimov) faced the Azerbaijani team (Murad Akbarov, Saleh Mammadov, Magsud Huseinli, Abbas Huseinov). The final score was 45:23 in favour of the Russians. Bronze medals went to the national team of Belarus.
The Russian national team became the champions of the BRICS Games phygital football, defeating Kazakhstan in the Finals. At the digital stage, the teams did not concede to each other, but the Russian team had a slight advantage, 6:5. The Russians won that phase thanks to Daniil Abeldyaev, Robert Fakhretdinov, Anton Klenov, and Stepan Mikhovich. However, there was still a game on a real court ahead, and things could change. Aleksandr Kriger, Artyom Elkin, Daniil Ilyin, and Aleksandr Kuzminykh joined the Russian team, and together they managed to get through this stage, achieving a victory. The total score of the match was 9:7.
“Very tense game; great respect to our brothers from the team of Kazakhstan. I even lost my voice from all the screaming. There was such heat in the fights of both stages, these were the Finals that we deserved. I’m proud of all the guys, they are amazing. The organisation is superb. Kazan is a very cool city with the most kind and helpful people”, said Daniil Abeldyaev, Russian national team player.
The Venezuelan team took the third place. They defeated the Brazilians with a score of 6:5 in the match for bronze.
“The preparations for the event are top-notch, just like at the World Championships, we’re incredibly impressed. We really enjoyed it here in Kazan. We visited the Kazan Kremlin, Bauman Street, very fascinating”, Gustavo Briceño, head coach of the Venezuelan national team, remarked after winning the match for the third place.
Belt wrestling competitions were held at Ak Bars Wrestling Palace. Gold medals in classic style were won by the Russians: Tamirlan Kerefov (up to 82 kg), Sandzhi Karuev (up to 90 kg), Gazi Khalilov (up to 100 kg), and Aynur Syrtaev (100+ kg), as well as athletes from Uzbekistan: Abdulakhad Nosirov (up to 57 kg), Diyorbek Polvonboev (up to 68 kg), and Samandar Anvarov (up to 75 kg), with Nurlan Sadyraly Uulu (up to 62 kg) from Kyrgyzstan.
Russian wrestlers: Rasul Aduev (up to 57 kg), Gabdyzhalil Suleymanov (up to 62 kg), Danila Zubrilov (up to 68 kg), and Emil Nezametdinov (up to 90 kg); Uzbeks: Murodjon Khamidov (up to 75 kg), Khusnidin Ruziev (up to 82 kg), and Nodirbek Akhatjonov (up to 100 kg); as well as Bakhtiiar Mirlan Uulu (100+ kg) from Kyrgyzstan won in free style.
“I have a lot of fighting experience, but taking part in such a grand event just takes my breath away. I’m glad and happy that I pleased my loved ones with this victory. Kazan remains a top venue for holding sporting events. I was second at the 2013 Summer Universiade, now I’m first. I levelled up”, said Gabdyzhalil Suleymanov.
“I’m very happy with the result, I fought a multiple champion in the Finals. I expected a lot from myself because I prepared long and hard. Everything was on my side today. The competition at the tournament was 10 out of 10. There were a lot of strong opponents, especially in the Finals. I liked the organisation overall”, Danila Zubrilov stated.
In women’s wrestling, the first places went to Russia’s Zhanna Islamgalieva (up to 58 kg), Alina Pukhova (up to 66 kg), Dina Gizatullina (up to 76 kg), and Zamirat Kusaeva (76+ kg), as well as to Uzbekistan’s Farangiz Abdunabieva (up to 52 kg).
Following the results of the belt wrestling tournament, Russia won 21 medals (12 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze). Uzbekistan got 20 medals (7-9-4), the same as Kyrgyzstan (2-5-13).
The first day of the breaking competitions came to an end at Dynamo Sport Academy in Moscow.
The qualifying stage, as well as top-16, top-8, and top-4 matches took place in the 1×1 (individual events) and 4×4 (team events) disciplines.
“The level of athletes is very good. I would highlight Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Kazakhstan: these four countries have very good prospects now, they will be competing for the title and prizes. I think the BRICS Games live up to the level of good international competitions. We had a preparatory training camp at a nice, new sports base on the eve of the Games, with two training sessions a day; the food, the procedures: everything was excellent”, Ruslan Fayzrakhmanov, a B-boy Footrockets dancer from Russia, remarked.
The BRICS Games competitions will continue in Moscow, where the breaking and acrobatic rock’n’roll tournaments will be held on 23 and 24 June, respectively.