On November 25, the 3rd Russian SAMBO Championships among the Blind and Visually Impaired took place in Moscow. Held at the Moscow Martial Arts Center (MMAC), the tournament was attended by representatives of 8 federal districts of the country.





At the opening ceremony, welcoming letters from the President of the International SAMBO Federation Vasily Shestakov and the President of the All-Russian and European SAMBO Federations Sergey Eliseev were voiced. Welcoming addresses were also made by the Chair of the Commission for Promotion of SAMBO Among the Blind and Visually Impaired Athletes of the All-Russian SAMBO Federation, a member of the Commission for Athletes with Different Abilities of the International SAMBO Federation (FIAS) Roman Novikov, member of the Patriarchal Commission for Physical Culture and Sports, the USSR Master of Sports in SAMBO, Priest Georgy Dekhtyaryov, and winner of the World SAMBO Cup “Kharlampiev Memorial”, actor and musician Dmitry Goncharov.

As part of the Championships` opening, a video presenting the performance of the SAMBO for the Blind demonstration team at the World SAMBO Championships in the Republic of Korea was projected on large screen.





Upon completion of the screening, Roman Novikov and Dmitry Goncharov presented Certificates of Gratitude from the FIAS President Vasily Shestakov to members of the international SAMBO for the Blind demonstration team, Andrei Demidov and Dmitry Samokhvalov.

To glorify the tournament's participants, Dmitry Goncharov performed a song about SAMBO accompanying himself on the guitar.





It has already become a tradition to open the Russian SAMBO for the Blind Championships with the anthem of the Russian Federation performed by the active blind sambist and saxophonist Sergei Sinitsyn.





But the most important part of any tournament is certainly its sports component. By the results of the fights, blind and visually impaired sambists singled out the winners and medalists in 8 weight categories among men and in 9 weight categories among women. The athletes and their coaches shared their emotions and impressions in their exclusive interviews to the FIAS website.





Pavel SELIVANOV (Krasnoyarsk Krai), a silver medal winner in the up to 100 kg weight category among men:

'Last year, I became a bronze medalist at the SAMBO for the Blind Championships of Russia in Sochi, this year I improved my result and scored the silver. In the finals, I lost to an experienced challenger Anatoly Shevchenko.'

Andrei Vankin (Ulyanovsk Oblast), a silver medal winner in the up to 62 kg weight category among men:

'This is my first significant success in SAMBO. At this SAMBO Championships of Russia among the Blind, I won a silver medal, so there is something to work on, in order to improve my result next year.'

Ildar MINGALIEV, coach of the Perm Krai team:

'I am pleased with the performance of my trainees. Our team has got one gold, two silvers and one bronze, the girls are silver medalists. We could have done even better, and now I realize what we need to improve. I am very pleased with Anton Efremov, my champion in the up to 90 kg weight category.'

Valentin PEGOV, coach of the team of the Republic of Bashkortostan:

'My trainees performed fairly well, and our team has got two golds, one silver, and two bronzes. Artyom Merkulov, a champion in the up to 68 kg weight category, performed well and demonstrated an excellent technique. I also wish to mention Alsu Nasyrova, a champion in the up to 56 kg weight category. She debuted at these Championships and showed some good wrestling. I hope that the rest of my trainees will improve their results next year.'

Alexey GRUZDEV, coach of the Novosibirsk Oblast team:

'Our team had demonstrated a very serious fighting capacity. Sadly, our male sambists did not make it to the winners, but the women delighted us with two silver medals. Upon returning home, we'll analyze our mistakes and prepare for the next year in order to improve the result.'





The ceremony of awarding the winners of the SAMBO Championships of Russia among the Blind and Visually Impaired was attended by the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the All-Russian SAMBO Federation, Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling Alexander Ivanitsky, author and producer of charity projects “Cinema for the Blind and the Deaf” and “Theater Para-Premiere” Lidia Andreeva-Kuindzhi, and priest Georgy Dekhtyaryov.





The results of the tournament were summed up by the chief organizer and ideological inspirer of the tournament, Roman Novikov.





'It is difficult for me, as an organizer, to impartially assess the success of the 2019 SAMBO for the Blind Championships of Russia. Of course, we had encountered various organizational challenges that we successfully overcame with our team,' noted Novikov. 'I wish to thank Viktor Ignatenko, head coach of the Russian SAMBO for the Blind team, and Natalya Novikova, manager of the training process for the Russian SAMBO for the Blind team, for their operational efficiency and professionalism in solving organizational issues. Special thanks are due to the First Vice-President of the All-Russian SAMBO Federation Sergei Baidakov and priest Georgy Dekhtyaryov for their significant support in organizing the Championships.'





Organizers of the SAMBO Championships of Russia among the Blind and Visually Impaired are: The Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, the All-Russian SAMBO Federation, the Federation of Sports for the Blind, the SAMBO for the Blind charity foundation.





Individual Standings of the SAMBO Championships of Russia among the Blind and Visually Impaired

Moscow, Russia

Women

48 kg

1. FAYZULINA Aigul (Ulyanovsk Oblast)

2. ELAVOVA Altynkyyz (Republic of Dagestan)

3. MURTAKOVA Vera (Ulyanovsk Oblast)

52 kg

1. STEPANYUK Alesya (Moscow)

2. GABDRASHITOVA Linda (Perm Krai)

3. AITBAEVA Alina (Republic of Bashkortostan)

56 kg

1. NASYROVA Alsu (Republic of Bashkortostan)

2. OKHOTNIKOVA Elizaveta (Novosibirsk Oblast)

60 kg

1. CHUDINA Anastasia (Kaluga Oblast)

2. YAKIMOVA Irina (Perm Krai)

3. OVCHINNIKOVA Natalya (Perm Krai)

64 kg

1. GAURGASHVILI Zeynab (Republic of Dagestan)

68 kg

1. MAGAMEDOVA Aninat (Republic of Dagestan)

72 kg

1. ZABRODSKAYA Olga (Moscow-Ulyanovsk Oblast)

80 kg

1. MIKHAILOVA Svetlana (Ulyanovsk Oblast)

2. KERENTSEVA Anastasia (Novosibirsk Oblast)

+80 kg

1. KALYANOVA Irina (Moscow)

2. GANIEVA Svetlana (Republic of Bashkortostan)

Men

57 kg

1. AKHMADOV Bers-Sheikh (Chechen Republic)

2. MOSHIN Ivan (Ulyanovsk Oblast)

3. KLETZ Yuri (Khabarovsk Krai)

62 kg

1. SHAKHMANOV Said (Republic of Dagestan)

2. VANKIN Andrei (Ulyanovsk Oblast)

3. SEMYONOV Alexander (St. Petersburg)

3. MIKAILOV Elmurad (Republic of Dagestan)

68 kg

1. MERKULOV Artyom (Republic of Bashkortostan)

2. ABDULMANAPOV Murad (Republic of Dagestan)

3. SANCHAY-OOL Eres (Moscow)

3. MAGOMEDOV Magomed Zakir (Republic of Dagestan)

74 kg

1. RUDENKO Viktor (Khabarovsk Krai)

2. KUTUEV Vasily (Khabarovsk Krai)

3. KHALIKOV Yakub (Republic of Dagestan)

3. KHAMITOV Ilfat (Ulyanovsk Region)

82 kg

1. KURBANOV Shahban (Republic of Dagestan)

2. SABIROV Ruslan (Khabarovsk Krai)

3. ASELDEROV Shahban (Republic of Dagestan)

3. RABADANOV Hasan (Republic of Dagestan)

90 kg

1. EFREMOV Anton (Perm Krai)

2. DOROGANOV Andrei (Stavropol Krai)

3. KHARITONOV Evgeny (Moscow Oblast)

3. UGLANOV Alexander (Republic of Bashkortostan)

100 kg

1. SHEVCHENKO Anatoly (Republic of Dagestan)

2. SELIVANOV Pavel (Krasnoyarsk Krai)

3. MAGOMEDOV Ilyas (Republic of Dagestan)

3. SADIKOV Khabib (Republic of Dagestan)

+100 kg

1. RASULOV Yusup (Republic of Dagestan)

2. MOROZOV Pavel (Yamal-Nenentsky AO)

3. KHAMITOV Ayrat (Ulyanovsk Oblast)

3. SINITSYN Sergei (Moscow Oblast)