Pavel Rozhkov, Andrey Strokin at the sports and training base of Russia's Ministry of Sport “Ozero Krugloe” (Moscow Region) took part in the opening ceremony of the opening of the Russian Wheelchair Fencing Competitions
Chairman of the Governing Board , First Vice-President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, IWAS Vice president Pavel Rozhkov, General Secretary of the RPC, President of the All-Russian Sports Federation of Persons with Physical Impairments, 5-time Paralympic Games Champion Andrei Strokin at the sports training base of the Ministry of Sports of Russia "Ozerio Krugloe" (Moscow region) took part in the opening ceremony and watching the first day of the Russian wheelchair Fencing Championship.
Pavel Rozhkov addressed the athletes to coaches and specialists with a welcoming speech:
“On behalf of IWAS and the Russian Paralympic Committee, I welcome all of you to the Russian Wheelchair Fencing Championship.
I am very pleased to see today on the platforms the strongest fencers of our country, and those who are still only striving to join the national teams of Russia.
Wheelchair fencing is one of the most spectacular and exciting sports in the Paralympic Summer Games. This Russian Championship will determine the composition of the Russian national team for the 2019 World Cup in Korea, where you can win slots for participation in the 16th Paralympic Summer Games of 2020 in Tokyo. I wish you good luck in this!
As many of you know, we are now considering the possibility of holding the World Wheelchair Fencing Championship of 2021 in Russia, in conjunction with the IWAS World Games. I am sure that such a large-scale event in your sport, held in our country, will increase the prestige and recognition of Paralympic fencing.
Congratulations to all of you on the start of the Russian Championship and good luck! ”
About 90 athletes from more than 13 regions of the country take part in the Russian Championship, including winners, prize winners and participants of the World Championships, Europe and All-Russia competitions - multiple world champions and prize winners of World Cup stages, Merited Masters of Sports Alexander Logutenko, Sergey Barinov, Maxim Shaburov , Ksenia Ovsyannikova, Yulia Maya, Victoria Boykova, Alexander Kuzyukov, Roman Fedyaev, Lyudmila Vasilyeva, Alena Evdokimova, Nikolay Lukyanov, World Championships medalists, Master of Sports of international class: Evgenia Sycheva, Artur Yus Upov, Timur Khamatshin, Albert Kamalov, Victor Dronov, Nikita Nagaev, Mikhail Karpov, Dmitry Belyaev, Anna Gladilina.