Batu Khasikov, president of the Republic of Kalmykia, Chairman of the Supreme Supervisory Council of the Russian Kickboxing Federation (RFKR), believes that the international ban on Russian sports has not only negative aspects for Russia, but also advantages. In an interview with socialbites.ca, he talked about the possibilities of financing the development of sports in the country and said that it is necessary to organize broadcasts of competitions in various sports on many television channels.
“The obvious advantage is that resources and financial flows are directed inward. We understand that when we have a broad international agenda, all this has to be financed and there is a lot of money. Now the same funds can be used to develop sports in Russia. Every sport, regardless of its popularity, needs this kind of support – starting with the renewal of infrastructure and staff training,” Khasikov believes.
The official and famous athlete emphasized that each TV channel should take on the burden of broadcasting competitions in order to promote various sports, including kickboxing. According to him, the low ratings of a particular sport should not affect this; On the contrary, broadcasts will only increase the popularity of various sports. Khasikov cited the example of organizing a similar industry in the USA.
“Some may say that everything in America is based on business, that there is a more solvent crowd there. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is what kind of result we will see. There are many channels broadcasting sports and they are quite popular. In this sense, we have room for growth. Creating separate sports channels is probably too expensive. But there are federal channels; please broadcast sports regardless of ratings,” Khasikov convinced.
In 2022, against the background of the start of SVO in Ukraine, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Bach recommended that international federations exclude Russian athletes from international competitions. On January 25, 2023, the IOC announced that it was considering the possibility of allowing Russian athletes who do not support the holding of the SBO to participate in international competitions in a neutral status.
On October 12, 2023, the IOC announced the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice, following the inclusion of the Olympic Councils of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the Russian organization. The IOC also stated that it reserves the right to make a decision at the necessary time on the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Previously Khasikov explainedWhy Bach changed his attitude towards Russia many times.