SPORT The Minsk Times Thursday, March 17, 2011 11 Another chance Aiming for future victories for Marek At the 31st European Indoor Sykora Athletics Championship, held in , ’ Andrey Czech expert to head Dinamo Minsk next Kravchenko comes first all-round season Th e head coach of the By Yuri Karpenko do well, being keen to join hockey club from Minsk is the core line-up and, obvi- to continue working with the The prestigious tour- ously, gain a place at the team, having an acting contract nament was hosted by top Olympics. All-round ath- with Dinamo Minsk for next French sports complex lete Andrey Kravchenko, season. However, some of the Paris-Bercy, which seats 25, was a favourite and met team’s coaches may not be kept almost 18,000. A special expectations; he earned on and a few players have left record was set, with 630 6,282 points over seven the club: defenseman Tomas athletes from almost 50 events to take gold (60m Mojzis, forward Petr Sykora and European countries gath- sprint, long jump, shot- goalkeeper Robert Esche. ered at the stadium. Bela- putt, high jump, 60m stee- rus sent 19 athletes to com- plechase, pole vault and pete, accompanied by head 1,000m race). Silver went coach Anatoly Baduev. He to Nadir El Fassi of notes that our core team while Czech Roman Šebrle comprised young and took bronze. Before the In Paris, Andrey Kravchenko (C) earns first gold at top tournament promising athletes, with final event, the 1,000m, This was Andrey’s fifth pean Championship. Sadly, The top eight athletes in- experience of European Andrey was already ahead medal at a top tourna- Kravchenko’s gold was the cluded Veronika Shutkova and world junior events. by a considerable amount, ment, having claimed sil- only medal brought home and Anastasia Miron- Our leading athletes were so his gold was a foregone ver at the 2008 Summer from Paris by Belarus, al- chik-Ivanova (long jump), absent, as they are current- conclusion. He also set Olympics and at the 2008 though seven members of Sergey Platonov (3,000m) ly in training for the 2012 a national record in the Winter World Champion- our team reached the finals. and Dmitry Detsuk (triple Olympics in . heptathlon and is the first ship. He also took bronze Alina Talay was placed fifth jump) as well as Anastasia M. Sykora leads the game The younger genera- Belarusian to win the Eu- at the 2007 Winter Euro- in the final 60m steeple- Shvedova (pole vault). The Th is season, Dinamo Minsk tion of our ropean Indoor Athletics pean Championship and chase and set two personal latter even broke her previ- is in the play-off s of the Conti- squad was motivated to Championship. at the 2010 Summer Euro- records during the event. ous national record. nental Hockey League for the fi rst time. In the initial round, Favourites Dinamo faced a CHL leader First award — Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, los- ing over a tough seven-match hold on to duel. Now, the Dinamo players claimed at World are undergoing through medi- their status cal examinations and tests be- By Kirill Pirogov fore starting their training for Championship the World Championship. Th e Belarusian men’s national heads of the club will continue By Kirill Karin has given Darya her fi rst tennis team play Davis discussing the line-up on the personal medal at a World Cup match, in Euro-Africa main squad. Darya Domracheva wins Championship. Zone Group II silver at Biathlon World Th e beginning of the race The Belarusian squad Championship mass start was less than successful for faced Bulgaria on Minsk’s On top form Th e Belarusian athlete the leader of the Belarusian courts, captained by Alex- European Nations Table took 36 minutes and 53.3 team, as Domracheva initially ander Shvets. Veteran Max BELTA Tennis League sees seconds to cover the 12.5km fell and broke her ski poles. As Darya Domracheva during the mass start Mirny, 33, is seeded sixth Belarusian men’s team track, with four shooting in- a result, aft er her fi rst shoot, Domracheva, exhausted by dividual race) fi nished 17th. worldwide and partners defeat Swedish squad tervals. She missed just three she was left in 29th position, her unsuccessful start, was On the closing day of the Canadian Daniel Nestor Belarus has managed to targets and was 4.8 seconds among 30, with two penal- eventually outpaced by Neu- championship, the Belarusian in his doubles matches. fi nish the premier-division on behind Magdalena Neuner ties. However, she gradually ner, but held on to second po- biathletes were close to suc- He was accompanied by top form. In the closing match of Germany (four penalties), improved her situation and sition. Tora Berger of Norway cess in a 4x6km relay race but Vladimir Ignatik, Sergey of A Group, at Minsk’s Tennis who won the World Cham- led during the fi nal circle, came third, while Belarusian fi nally fi nished fourth — be- Betov and Alexander Bury. Palace, Alexander Petkevich’s pionship title. Th e event in avoiding penalties at the third Nadezhda Skardino (who pre- hind Germany, Ukraine and Bulgaria was missing trainees defeated 3:0. Russian Khanty-Mansiysk and fourth shooting intervals. viously came fourth in her in- France. core player Grigor Dim- In the opening match, the Be- itrov, leaving less experi- larusian team leader, Vladimir enced men to defend its Samsonov, easily beat Andreas Medals scatter across fighting mats colours: Dimitar Kutro- Törnkvist while, in the second vsky, Todor Enev, Valentin match, Vitaly Nekhvedovich By Yuri Kovalev the big event, since their capa- Dimov and Dimitar Kuz- defeated Harald Andersson. bilities are already well known manov were captained by Finally, Yevgeny Shchetinin 41st International Grand to us. Our main target was Ognyan Iliev. smashed Fabian Akerström Prix Freestyle Wrestling to discover who our reserve It was no surprise that in a very intense match. Sadly, Tournament, honouring wrestlers should be,” explains Alexander Shvets’ squad these victories over one of the triple Olympic champion head coach Sergey Kitaev. “In won four out of their five group’s leaders brought only Alexander Medved, all honesty, I wasn’t expecting matches, being viewed by moral satisfaction, since Bela- gathers athletes from 18 such good results but I’m de- the coach as the clear fa- rus had already lost its chance countries in Minsk lighted that our trainees have vourites. It is hoped that to reach the semi-fi nals. Ger- Th e host team lacked its exceeded our expectations. they might return to Euro- many and Sweden are through optimal line-up (with famous Th ey’ll be useful at European Africa Zone Group I. Pre- from the group. Rizvan Gadzhiev, Murad Gay- and world events in future.” match expectations were In turn, the women’s squad darov, Ruslan Sheikhov and Th e tournament honour- fulfilled, with the hosts is to continue through to the Ivan Yankovsky absent due ing Alexander Medved, the winning 4:1. The match semi-fi nals of the European to injury) yet managed to win best freestyle wrestler of the was quite complicated,

Nations League challenge-di- nine medals: four gold, three ALEXANDER STADUB last century, began in Minsk with Vladimir Ignatik sin- vision (ranked second in im- silver and two bronze. Th is al- Omargadzhi Magomedov (R) is unrivalled in his category in 1970 and gained Grand Prix gle handedly winning two portance). Th ey came fi rst in B lowed our men’s team to out- and Alexey Shemarov each It proved a resounding suc- status in 1994, awarded by the matches. Group and are now due to face strip such traditionally for- claimed gold. cess. “Last year, there was a International Wrestling Fed- In the second round Russia in a semi-fi nal match midable rivals as Kazakhstan, Th e tournament was cer- six week break between the eration. To date, it has gath- of the Euro-Africa Zone on March 29th (away) and on Russia and the USA. tainly good experience for the tournament in Minsk and the ered athletes from 55 coun- event, Belarus will meet April 19th (at home). Teams Belarus’ Vladislav An- squad, in preparation for the European Championship, al- tries, with a record number of Hungary (which has de- from Poland and the Czech Re- dreev (under 55kg), Ali 2011 European Champion- lowing us to present our main participating countries (47) feated Cyprus), from July public are to battle for the other Shabanov (55kg), Omar- ship, which begins on March athletes. Th is time, we decided attending for the 30th tourna- 8th-10th, playing on a clay place in the fi nals. gadzhi Magomedov (84kg) 29th in German Dortmund. to save our core wrestlers for ment, in 2000. court.