58th WMC Boxing – Moscow (RUS) – Closing Ceremony
MOSCOW (RUS) - On 25 September, the 58th World Military Boxing Championship came to an end in Moscow. For the first time in history, the WMC Boxing was held in Russia. A total of 231 boxers from 36 countries participated in the Moscow tournament.
During the Closing Ceremony of the 58th World Military Boxing Championship, two awards were presented by order of the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation for their significant contribution to the development of international military cooperation to Colonel Jose Carlos García-Verdugo, Member of the CISM Board of Directors and Official CISM Representative for this event, and to Colonel Luiz Fernando Medeiros Nóbrega, CISM Sports Director.
Mrs. Galina Lipen, Deputy Secretary General and Head of the Financial Department of the Russian Boxing Federation, received the medal "For the Strengthening of the Fighting Commonwealth".
The awards were presented by the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov; Colonel Andrey Zykov, Head of the Directorate of Physical Training and Sports of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; Colonel Oleg Parkhomenko, Deputy Head of the FAU of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation CSKA (for sports work); Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation Mr. Kirill Shchekutyev; First Deputy Secretary General, member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Boxing Federation Mrs. Tatyana Kirienko.
After that, Colonel Jose Carlos García-Verdugo declared the 58th World Military Boxing Championship officially closed.
"First of all, we are delighted to see spectators again at our championships. The most important thing is that representatives from 36 countries came to see us. We wanted to show the world our country, our people and our achievements, and embody the main motto of international military sport: friendship through sport. 70% of the world's national teams are made up of military personnel, and our team is no exception. The level of sport in the armed forces is very high and is at a good international level" - said Colonel Artem Gromov, head of CSKA. "The CSKA does not differentiate between sports and each discipline is unique. Boxing was originally a military sport and is famous for its military tradition - it was in the past, it is now and I hope it will be in the future. In the military world championships, rank takes a back seat when the boxers step into the ring. The main task is to show what you can do and to be stronger."
"I would like to note that we have seen a very high level tournament. Many of the boxers here have a lot of experience on the international stage, including the Olympics. This suggests that it is not only in Russia that boxers are part of the army and military forces. Boxing in the military has always been of a high standard and year on year it is improving. The Russian national team performed very well at this World Championship and won the first place in the medal standings," said Mr. Kirill Shchekutyev, Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation. "The presence of fans benefits the athletes. And the Russian boxers enjoyed the support of the many local fans in the stadium," he added.
Thank you Russia for this amazing event !
(Source : Russian Delegation to CISM, CISM Media & Communication Department and AIBA)
