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On October 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Ufa, where, before the meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture, he met with young fencers and Paralympians, veterans of special combat operations who lost their arms and legs, in the Northern Military District. and sports. Details from Ufa - Kommersant correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov.
The fencing center in Ufa is not impressive. It is unlikely that there is a hall of this size in Moscow or any other Russian city. The head coach of the women's fencing team of Bashkortostan, Egor Popov, assured that at least nowhere is it like that.
-Where were you looking? - Definitely yes.
— Do you see two twisted rapiers at the main entrance? (Yes, I did. The entrance is about 30 meters high. - AK) I observed this in a certain French city. But we never dreamed of it.
- Who did you personally give the gift to? - I asked Yegor Popov.
- to me? - he seemed to ask with surprise. - Well, at least the Olympic champion Adelina Zagidullina! I myself did not become a champion, but at least she became a champion.
- So you're his personal trainer?
“Yes.” He nodded, hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “And my husband, too.”
- Wake up! Close fight! "Their coach gave an order to the girls who were already fencing on the track (I, of course, got up) and saw that the President's Assistant for Sports Alexey Dyumin had entered the hall.
“And you,” I asked, “are you building a fence?”
"NO." Alexey Dyumin replied firmly. "But if they say so, they can do it."
It was clear that one person was talking to him for a reason.
Well, in response to my question, Yegor Popov said that just in case, the girls were fencing this morning from 8:30 (it was 19:20 then). “They are athletes,” the coach explained to me.
I spoke to one of the girls. She's sixteen, and eight of them are fencers. Why? What's so special? I tried to understand.
- I don't understand either. She shrugged. "I gave up gymnastics." I gave up swimming and hapkido. There are many more. I did everything.
"What's wrong with fencing?" I asked.
No, she couldn't answer. Then another girl came up and spoke as if she had heard our conversation.
- Incredible experience. There are no people like them anywhere else. You won't understand.
It is unlikely that Vladimir Putin guessed it either. He spent about three minutes in the corridor.
-Can I take a picture with you? "The brave young man, one of two girls out of a dozen, found out about it from him.
As is well known, Mr. Putin takes “photography” seriously. He prepares the shots himself, usually with his own participation, so the background is decent and everyone can fit in it. Now everything was the same.
A few minutes later, in the neighboring building of the Lima Batalova Sports Training Center, another event began. Here, Vladimir Putin was waiting for the Paralympians who had lost their arms and legs during a special operation. I entered the volleyball court a minute before President Vladimir Putin.
In the middle of the room stood several players in red shirts, hugging each other. It didn't take me long to understand that they hugged not because they missed each other, but because not all of them had prosthetic arms and these people didn't stand alone for long.
They were asked to stand closer, and several wheelchair players with incredible coordination jumped together and stood behind them, as if they did this every day. Now everything looked as it should. The president entered.
“What happens in combat can’t stop you from living your life,” he said. “Our Paralympians are high achievers.” Yes, they’re not allowed to play, and the sport is politicized, but it seems to motivate people like you to win.
You could tell they were nodding enthusiastically.
- Everything worked out before (judging by the changed faces, I wasn't sure about that. - AK), but for those who didn't make it, the fact that they went through such a crucible of trials, and not next to them, but here, in this beautiful hall" - the President continued: "It's important... I'm sure it will breathe new life into some people.
It was worth it, he told them. Not all of it was wasted.
We had to convince them of this.
"I am a veteran of the Northern Army. "We are very pleased to have you." One of the players, an older man, said: "Thank you for not forgetting about us..."
If I hadn't realized at some point that he had a prosthetic leg instead of one, I would have said that he was shifting from foot to foot.
"I was in the hospital..." he said. "I have no legs..." I feel like my life is over...
He looked around the room and his colleagues. He hesitated, searching for words. It seemed to me that he could not be found.
— Last year I took first place in the cup. And this too... So!..- He shrugged.
“Have you ever played sports before?” the president asked him.
- Thank you! - He became emotional. - Thank you for not forgetting about us.
He'd said it before and wanted to repeat it.
President Vladimir Putin responded: "I will remember this for the rest of my life."
They asked for permission to start the volleyball match, he gave his blessing, took a picture with them, and moved on.
They sat and played volleyball. Everyone's hands were fine. "Udmurtia" vs. "Sverdlovsk Oblast."
This was a must see. This is exactly what you need. That's all.