Olympic champion in speed skating, State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova said that Ukrainian tennis player Elizaveta Kotlyar showed personal courage by shaking hands with Russian Vlada Mincheva after the junior match at the Australian Open. He shared his opinion with him TASS.
“The girl will most likely be persecuted for this in her hometown. But let’s be happy about this situation, thank God there are people who see this as normal. It looks like they may have known each other, perhaps trained together. It so happened that we communicated, were friends, and then the country ordered us not to shake hands.
The IOC and international federations will have to reconsider this issue with handshakes. This has been mandatory in many sports, but it looks like it will need to be reconsidered. This act is the athlete’s personal courage, but we remember how it turned out in his homeland,” said Zhurova.
The match between the rivals ended in favor of the Russians with scores of 6:2 and 6:4. After the second set, the girls shook hands at the net.
Ukrainian and Russian athletes have not shaken hands for a long time. Alternatively, the girls attacked each other with rackets.
16-year-old Mincheva is ranked 21st in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. He has six victories in tournaments under the auspices of the organization. This is his first appearance at the Australian Open as a junior.
Previously Russian tennis players starry From the Australian Open.