February 17, a meeting of alumni of the Children of Asia Games from different years took place at the Children of Asia Games Museum.
The atmosphere at the Games Museum was filled with excitement, fond memories and the joy of meeting. Opening the meeting^ President of the Children of Asia International Committee Vladimir Maksimov, said: “Life and time show that after receiving the coveted medals of their first international competitions “Children of Asia”, each of the alumni developed their own path in life. Some of them become Olympic champions, others become good specialists in different fields of activity. But each of them continues to work, not forgetting the importance of sports in the life of every child.”
Liliya Akhaimova, an alumni of the IV Games, Olympic champion of Tokyo 2020, told about the objectives of the recently established Children of Asia Games Alumni Union.
- There are a lot of proactive people among the alumni, we always try to meet and discuss details, because it is very interesting to hear the opinions of Games alumni who themselves went through these competitions and can say what is missing for the development of children's sports in our time. All members of the Union actively participate in the development of our projects for young athletes.
An alumni of the 1st Games, First Deputy Minister for Physical Culture and Sports of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Alexander Bugaev noted that the Children of Asia Games and the Alumni Union will contribute to the development and support of children's sports.
- The role of the Games Alumni Union is, of course, unity. We, as Yakutians, are proud that such a project as the Children of Asia Games has become international. Our Alumni Union has members from different countries, this will undoubtedly be the driving force for the development of children's sports in Asian countries.
Victoria Barashkova, an alumni of the IV Games, All-Russian category judge in freestyle wrestling, said that, having gone through the stages of an athlete, coach and judge, she can confidently say about the difficulties and nuances of each.
- I participated in the IV Children of Asia Games in 2008 in freestyle wrestling. It was in 2008 that women's wrestling was included in the Games program. The most vivid memory from those Games for me is how large-scale preparations have been made, and how many participants there were. Now I am also involved in freestyle wrestling, by refereeing and continuing to train children. As a child, I thought that judging competitions was easier than competing. Now I realize that it is not. Everything has its own difficulties, it’s hard for both the athlete and the judge. I wish the future participants of the Children of Asia Games the most important thing: to believe in themselves. And to have a desire to show and prove, to train hard and never lose hope.
Aksinya Panova, an alumni of the VII Games, is only at the beginning of her sports career. The girl shared her plans for her sports career in the coming years.
- At this stage of my sports career, the most vivid impression was left by the victory at the Children of Asia Games in Vladivostok. I can say that this is the heaviest medal I have so far. I am very glad that today I am present at the meeting of the Alumni Union. This is an opportunity to meet, exchange opinions and experiences, which will greatly help me now as an active athlete and in the future will contribute to the development of children's sports.
During the event, Vladimir Maksimov presented the champion badge to the winners of the gold medals of the Children of Asia Games. The commemorative badge is made in the form of the Committee's logo framed by an olive branch as a symbol of peace and victory. Champion badges were awarded to Gavril Tsypandin, Liliya Akhaimova, Victoria Barashkova and Aksinya Panova.
The meeting was attended by:
Gavril Tsypandin - champion of the II Games in northern multiathlon, general director of the Children of Asia International Committee;
Liliya Akhaimova – champion of the IV Games in artistic gymnastics, chairman of the Children of Asia Games Alumni Union, Olympic champion Tokyo 2020;
Alexander Bugaev - bronze medalist of the 1st Summer Games in athletics, First Deputy Minister for Physical Culture and Sports of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia);
Victoria Barashkova - champion of the IV Games in freestyle wrestling, coach and teacher in freestyle wrestling of the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of Children's and Youth Sports School № 3 named after V.P. Keremyasova in Yakutsk, judge of the All-Russian category in freestyle wrestling, master of sports of the Russian Federation in freestyle wrestling;
Rozalina Timofeeva - bronze medalist of the V Games, Master of Sports of the Russian Federation in archery, bronze medalist of the World Championship, silver medalist of the World Cup, two-time winner of the European Cup, instructor - methodologist of the State Budgetary Educational Institution of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) "Republican College Boarding School for Professional and Medical and Social Rehabilitation of the Disabled";
Aksinya Panova - champion of the VII Games, candidate master of sports in athletics, a student of the Municipal Budgetary Institution of Preparatory Education of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) "Youth Sports School 1 in Yakutsk", a 10th grade student of the Municipal Budgetary Institution "Tabaginskaya Secondary School";
Alexey Zakharov - silver medalist of the VII Summer Games, multiple champion and prize-winner of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Far Eastern Federal District in mini-football, captain of the national team of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in mini-football among youth, 2nd year student of State Autonomous Vocational Educational Institution of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) "Yakut Pedagogical college named after S.F. Gogolev", a student of the Municipal Budgetary Institution of Preparatory Education of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) "Youth Sports School 4 in Yakutsk".
