MINSK, 11 August (BelTA) – For young basketball players the 2nd CIS Games is a mini-Olympics, the 1992 Olympic basketball champion and bronze medalist of the Seoul Olympics Irina Sumnikova said in a conversation with BelTA.
“We have very strong teams at the Games. The level of competition is high. For the new sport, 3×3 basketball, and athletes, this is a mini-Olympics. Moreover, young ambitious people are our future. We look at them and rejoice at the next generation of athletes who are so eager to play basketball. With every game, I see how they improve. At first they were nervous, then they caught the rhythm, and now they are showing cool, high-quality basketball,” the Olympic champion emphasizes.
She showered praise on the organizers. “It is a professional international level. Everything is top-notch. No wonder I called the tournament a mini-Olympics. The surface is high-quality. But most importantly, there is this atmosphere of a big tournament,” the famous basketball player said.
According to Irina Sumnikova, the long-term preparation of Belarus for the Games has borne fruit. “Belarus has been moving towards the Games since 2015, when it began to host international-level basketball tournaments. It’s an experience,” the Olympic champion and medalist emphasizes.
