Sergey Shakhrai: ‘In 10 years people will visit Kazan like pilgrims visit holy grounds’
‘Having hooked’ Yeltsin on tennis instead of badminton, Tarpischev stole a march on Shakhrai
On 13 February, Badminton Center opened. It is the first sports centre of this kind in Russia, whose clones will appear soon in 11 regions of the country. A correspondent of Realnoe Vremya visited the ceremony and found out about the medical function of badminton, the role of Sergey Stepashin in the appearance of Badminton Center and why the Vice-PM of Russia could not attract the President Boris Yeltsin to badminton.
In the neighbourhood with tennis
Rustam Minnikhanov and Sergey Stepashin laid the first cornerstone to the foundation of Badminton Centre two years ago. And now the tournament is about to start in this building whose walls still smelt of paint! The very opening of such a centre is not just a sports but also a political event for our country. The President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the president of the National Badminton Federation of Russia Sergey Shakhrai and the president of the Badminton World Federation Poul-Erik Høyer took part in the event.
Before the opening ceremony, the high-ranking guests signed their autographs right on a specially designed wall in the foyer, not in a book of distinguished visitors. Then the pioneers passed through a guard of honours provided by 60 young badminton players towards the scene and told everything they thought about this ceremonial occasion.
Rustam Minnikhanov noted a major role of Stepashin who 'fought for the opening of this centre and called the very construction of the badminton palace and the very badminton 'low-cost, useful and effective'. He explained that the pupils of badminton of the republic will probably take part in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. As it turned out, Minnikhanov as well as most participants of the opening ceremony has visited Badminton Centre for the first time. The Centre is not noticeable near the gigantic Tennis Academy which is a neighbouring building. By the way, Academy hosted badminton competitions during the Universiade in 2013. It can be said that tennis and badminton are allied sports. It is like Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs and football was created from rugby…
Meanwhile, the head of world badminton Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen did not hide his emotions.
'I'm amazed, this is my first emotion. Each badminton player has a chance to achieve success, and the presence of such a centre is important for it… I express my sincere gratitude to those who created this building. The number of badminton players has increased tens folds for the last three years! It is incredible. Badminton improves eyesight, it is a unique sport as well as the centre where people do sport and simultaneously do medical investigations on the influence of badminton on health. It is possible that we will see the pupils of the Kazan school in the Olympic Games,' Poul-Erik Høyer expressed his hope.
Waiting for pilgrims…
Shakhrai went further and promised to turn Kazan into a place of pilgrimage.
'Blindfolded, you will get into panic and suffer from depression. 5% of first grade schoolchildren have bad eyesight, while school graduates account for even 37-55%. Thank God, we found a way to cope with the problem. Badminton is a way to see the world. I'm convinced that in 10 years people will visit Kazan and your unique complex as pilgrims visit holy grounds,' he stated.
Marking of the main arena allows to play badminton on 12 courts at the same time. Now Farid Valeyev's Cup began there. Farid Valeyev is a patriot of badminton who dedicated all his life to the development of badminton in the republic. And practically all kids and the young who came to the opening of the Center are his wards!
As Poul-Erik Høyer told to Realnoe Vremya, Badminton Center of Kazan is already ready to host any international competitions of any level!
'It is a unique centre because it combines both research facilities that deal with issues on eyesight improvement and training site. Moreover, these medical investigations will be applied in the whole world, not only in your country. It is no secret that we live in two dimensions – TV, mobile phones, tablets, while badminton allows to see the world in three dimensions. When shuttlecock flies, eyesight is focused on it, what allows to train the eye muscles. In Russia, it has been the first centre. All technical parameters and dimensions of your centre correspond to all international standards that allow to host competitions of any international level…'
Smart Tarpischev
Sergey Shakhrai, the head of Russian badminton, who worked as deputy chairman of the government of Russia in 1994-1996, sincerely admitted to Realnoe Vremya that could not attract Boris Yeltsin to badminton. Shamil Tarpischev took the opportunity and thrust tennis racket in the first President's hands…
'Kazan has many sports venues, but this one is unique on the grounds that it was invented, built and will be used together with ophthalmologists of the republic. It is more important than sport and badminton, the nation goes blind. I hope that this centre will be typical, and 11 cities of Russia will have these centres that will be certified according to the rules for European tournaments. It is good that modular stands easily allow to increase the capacity of the centre. The neighbouring Tennis Academy enables to train there, fortunately, the quality of that hall as good as this ones. It is an ideal place for world badminton…'
'I can tell you at first hand that badminton improves the eyesight. My eyesight is 1 in the right eye and 0,9 – in the left eye, I have checked it in this centre. Five years ago my right eye was -2 and the left one was -2,5! Players start to move during the lessons and their eyesight, which is worsened by ecology, TV and computers, is getting better! People take off their glasses! And this is true. I did not say by chance that in 10 years pilgrims would rush here. Humankind will begin to recover its sight!
'Why did not I attract Yeltsin to badminton? I had a business trip, so Tarpischev took the opportunity. He is a smart one… I play badminton two-three times a week and regularly win against Larsen,' Sergey Shakhrai boasted.
It should be added that for our country badminton is a comparatively young sport. It is enough to say that the first championship of the USSR was held only in 1963, and to day, we don't have any Olympic champion in badminton. I'm convinced that the situation will completely change, first of all, due to the work of Badminton Center of Kazan.
