Events

7 Sep 2017

Belarus' national teams slammed for poor performance at international events

MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) - The Belarus President, President of the National Olympic Committee Alexander Lukashenko slammed the performance of Belarusian athletes at various international competitions lately during the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus held on 7 September to discuss the preparations for the international sport forum, BelTA has learned.

Speaking about the Belarusian football team, the head of state drew attention to the fact that it lost even to Luxembourg in the World Cup qualifying tournament. “It is better to forget about it as soon as possible. Such attitude will do no good,” Alexander Lukashenko underlined.

The president expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of HC Dinamo Minsk that suffered a series of bad losses in the KHL championship. “They did win in Sochi, but this only suggests that they can play but do not,” he said.

The head of state also stressed that the national athletics, rhythmic gymnastics and judo teams failed to show good results at the recent world championships. “What do we spend the money on?” Alexander Lukashenko wondered.

“You have time to adjust, change coaches if needed. If you want to win in sport, you have to be ahead of others. The heads of the sports federations will be held accountable for the lack of progress. You may ask for money if you have a promising athlete or a coach. We will allocate the necessary funds and then we will ask for the result. Stop complaining about some reorganization, a change of generations. Money will be available only for an athlete or a coach. This is my stringent requirement to the National Olympic Committee and the government. If there is a result, come and ask whatever you need,” the president said.