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03.11.2015 Eduard Isakov: The national sledge hickey team of Russia could not fight for the gold medal of the World Championships.

Eduard Isakov: The national sledge hickey team of Russia could not fight for the gold medal of the World Championships. The national team of Russia won the bronze medal of the World Championships held in Buffalo (the USA) from April 26 till May 3. In these competitions our national team played five matches. At the group stage the Russian team lost to the USA team with the score 6:1, won from Italy - 0:3 and Germany - 0:10. In the semifinals, Canada defeated Russia with the score 3:2. And in the final match for the 3rd place Norway won with the score 2:1.The national team of Russia won the bronze medal of the World Championships held in Buffalo (the USA) from April 26 till May 3. In these competitions our national team played five matches. At the group stage the Russian team lost to the USA team with the score 6:1, won from Italy - 0:3 and Germany - 0:10. In the semifinals, Canada defeated Russia with the score 3:2. And in the final match for the 3rd place Norway won with the score 2:1. The national team of Russia won the bronze medal of the World Championships held in Buffalo (the USA) from April 26 till May 3. In these competitions our national team played five matches. At the group stage the Russian team lost to the USA team with the score 6:1, won from Italy - 0:3 and Germany - 0:10. In the semifinals, Canada defeated Russia with the score 3:2. And in the final match for the 3rd place Norway won with the score 2:1. Director of Sledge Hockey Club ”Ugra” Eduard Isakov told why expectations of the chief national coach of Russia Sergei Samoilov, who hoped for the gold medal, were not realised and what the reasons of such results were: The question remains open: What were the main principles for selection of players to the team to such important competitions as the world championship? The average age of the USA national team players is 23 years and this of our team - 30 years. Such age players as Lysov, Chekmarev, Amosov have already lost physically according to all parameters to young opponents. Moreover Chekmarev has been taked the the seventh place of 7 teams as the member of Orenburg team at the Championships of Russia and silver medal winners Petrov and Batiuk, bronze medal winner Pleshivykh and other promising young players stay at home. The matches with the teams of the USA, Canada and Norway were the most important. Lysov and Polin were not suited up in the match with the USA; they were at the stands. The players Berdnik, Chekmarev, Sokolov, Kuzminyh, who had been suited up, were almost absent on the rink (1-2 changes for 1 minute). All the load was taken by nine players left, two of which Panfilov and Amosov were unable to keep the opponent’s tempo. Actually seven players of the Russian team played with the Americans - Lisov, Volkov, Litvinenko, Varlakov, Terentiev, Kuznetsov, Siliukin. In the first two periods our team managed to blunt the attack of the Americans but in the third period the team leaders did not have enough strength to defend even their own net. Although after the second period the score was 3:1 but the score allowed them to return to the game. But the chief coach decided to play the match for three defenders and it happened when the the main leaders were tired out. All three periods the opponents played with the same high tempo and accordingly much work was performed at the defending line which had to include at least five defenders but only three defenders played there. As a result the third period was lost with the score 3:0 for the team of the USA. In the semi-final match with the Canadians Chekmarev and Berdnik were at the stands. The same players of the Russian team played on the rink again without changes. Playing time: Litvinenko - 21.20 min, Varlakov - 19.47 min, Terentiev - 24.28 min. The game started well for us after the first period we won with the score 1-0 and only in the middle of the second period the Canadians scored. Two consecutive unreasonable suspensions of Terentev led to two goals to our net and even after that losing with the score 3-1 at the beginning of the third period with Varlakov’s efforts our team managed to bring down the score to minimum in this match in the middle of the period giving the team a chance to return to the fight for the final of the competitions. But Samoilov’s wrong decision to play in 7 players did not allow the team leaders to level the match and win. The match for bronze medals with the team of Norway was difficult for our team. We had the same chances for medals as the Norway team had. We managed to make a goal only in overtime and win an edge 2-1 - Varlakov fought in the corner, made a pass to Volkov at the goalmouth and the letter made a goal. The main players looked very tired, so they could not finish the attack with a goal. Lysov and Berdnik were at the stands. Playing time: Litvinenko - 21.35 min, Varlakov - 26.23, Terentiev - 24.79 min. In fact it happened so that Lisov, Volkov, Panfilov, Litvinenko, Varlakov, Terentiev took responsibility for the results of the national team at the World Championships. It is worth noting that the training of two of them - Varlakov and Terentiev was not financed from the federal budget. They took part in training before the World Championships at the expense of their sledge hockey club. Other players being the regular members of the national team of Russia were trained at the federal expense and some of them just were at the stands during the main matches. The question remains open: Why did the coaches of the Russian team not bother about young reserve but senselessly take age members to the international matches in Czech Republic, Italy, Canada? For information only the team of Czech Republic was included in the group B and was not actual for our national team as an opponent. At the World Championship in Korea in 2013 the Russian team took the 3rd place, at the Paralympic Games 2014 it became the silver medal winner, at the World Championships 2015 it won the bronze medal again. Our national team “flails around” both in training and selection process. In my opinion, the World Championship has shown that in order to achieve high results at the Paralympic Games in Korea in 2018 the training programmes of our national sledge hockey team require fundamental changes.
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Chalin Aleksandr

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