The Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo will host and give the opportunity to train to two Ukrainian badminton athletes fleeing from Kharkiv.
These are Polina Buhrova (born in 2004) and Yevheniia Kantemyr (born in 2005) who now compete at world level and who were looking for an adequate space to practice their sport.
Buhrova, in fact, is in the running for Olympic qualification for Paris 2024.
The municipality’s sports service has assigned the athletes some school gyms in the area where they will have the opportunity to train throughout the 2024 sports season.
Luca Crippa from Cinisello will follow their preparation and has been the technical director of the Ukrainian national badminton team since 2020.
Badminton is considered one of the oldest racket sports, it is an indoor sport played entirely “on the fly”, where the aim is to make the shuttlecock (a half ball made of cork and goose feathers) fall into the opponent’s court without them being able to catch it.
In 1992 badminton was presented as an Olympic discipline in Barcelona. It is a very fast and tactical game, which is why physical prowess, agility and quick reflexes are required. The effect is spectacular with rapid exchanges and lively recoveries.
Mayor Giacomo Ghilardi comments: «I was interested in the story of the two athletes and we tried to help them by giving them hospitality. I thank their coach Luca Crippa who brought me as a gift, on behalf of the president of the federation and chief of staff of President Zelensky, the red shirt of the national team and a limited edition banknote created one year after the outbreak of the war. Come on girls, Cinisello Balsamo, which expresses a great tradition in sport, is with you.”
Sports councilor Riccardo Malavolta explains: «The administration is happy to be able to offer a space and an opportunity to these girls who, despite the well-known and painful difficulties of the moment, have not given up, putting all their tenacity into play and passion, bearing witness to the highest values of sport.”
2024-03-07 14:32:15
#Training #Athletes #Ukraine #Badminton #Sports #Cinisello
