SHKLOV, 10 July (BelTA) – President of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee Viktor Lukashenko met with young wrestlers and coaches of the specialized children and youth sports school of the Olympic reserve of Shklov District. The meeting brought together about 30 people. The friendly meet & greet took place in the wrestling hall of the school which Viktor Lukashenko attended for five years, BelTA has learned.
The chairman of the Belarusian Wrestling Federation, two-time world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling Alim Selimov and the silver medalist of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in women’s wrestling, a native of Mogilev Oblast Iryna Kurachkina also took part in the meeting. The guests, together with the children, settled down right on the mat and had a relaxed and open conversation . Viktor Lukashenko spoke about his sports past and answered questions: why he chose wrestling, what big victories and serious injuries he had, what qualities are needed to achieve high results, what hobbies Viktor Lukashenko has besides wrestling and how he spent his free time.
By the way, Viktor Lukashenko won his first silver medal in the wrestling hall of this sports school. According to him, in Shklov there were not many sports options. He preferred freestyle wrestling to football and athletics. He said that as a child he was physically strong and when he and his classmates were brought to tour the sports school, the coaches immediately identified him as one of the promising talents for wrestling. He said that he had to fight with himself in some ways, like any child. For example, most of all he did not like to practice techniques and horizontal bar. Morally, it was difficult.
During the conversation, Viktor Lukashenko advised the guys not to be afraid of failures and defeats: “Only by losing, you will win and climb higher. I am very happy to visit the sports school and talk to you. A lot has changed here in more than 30 years. Unlike today’s athletes, we didn’t even have uniforms, not to mention the other things. Now everything is different: children have the opportunity to train and achieve results. Alim Selimov and Iryna Kurachkina, who also hails from Shklov, also shared their experiences with the young athletes. They said that young guys have someone to look up to, everything is in their hands. If there is determination, desire, self-discipline, then everything will work out not only in sport but also other areas of life.
Viktor Lukashenko wished the children to be healthy, to stay positive, to set goals and achieve them. “Wrestling is not an easy sport. It requires constant routine work,” he stressed. At the end of the friendly meeting, the guests presented the children with sports outfits and gear.
