On the eve of Navy Day, the XIX tennis tournament «Bolshaya Beskozyrka-2024» was held in Sevastopol and Moscow

CrimeaPRESS reports:

For the second year in a row, the veteran tennis tournament «Bolshaya Beskozyrka», which has been held annually in the Hero City of Sevastopol since 2006 by the State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin and the Institute of CIS Countries on the eve of the Russian Navy Day, was held on July 26-27 simultaneously on the courts of the tennis club «Almond Grove» in Sevastopol and on the courts of the National Tennis Center named after Samaranch in Moscow.

Konstantin Zatulin, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Deputy of the State Duma of Russia, Honorary Citizen of the Republic of Crimea:

The veteran tennis tournament «Bolshaya Beskozyrka» was conceived during the years of Ukrainian captivity of Sevastopol. Then all the true friends of Crimea and Sevastopol came here. The motto of this tournament was «So that far from the Crimean land, we could not forget about it.» So that in Crimea they would not forget about Russia, and in Russia about Crimea.

Crimea and Sevastopol returned to their native harbor in 2014, and the motto of our tournament changed – “We returned home to our native Sevastopol.” Today, when Sevastopol is under fire and in danger, we considered it our duty to come to share joys and sorrows, tennis, bread and fate with our friends, veterans of the Black Sea Fleet.

If someone asks: «Why hold a tournament at a time when a special military operation is underway?», we answer: «The tournament flag, like the Russian one, once raised, must not be lowered.» We must prove that no matter what threatens us, no matter what happens, we do not abandon our own. We will not let ourselves be intimidated. Victory will be ours!

Sergey Aksenov, Head of the Republic of Crimea:

The tournament has been uniting representatives of the political, military and cultural elite of Russia for many years. Sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, veterans and tennis fans take part in this sporting event. The tournament was held in Sevastopol during the Third Defense of the city in 2014. It is still taking place today, when the Kiev regime is trying to intimidate the people of Crimea and Sevastopol with its terrorist attacks. But we know that our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours!

Mikhail Razvozhaev, Governor of the city of Sevastopol:

The situation in Sevastopol is not easy now, the air raid siren often sounds in the city, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are attacking our city. That is why it is so important not to let the enemy intimidate us now. Sports battles have a special meaning now: we are not afraid! After all, even in the most difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, tennis competitions were held in our country. For example, the Moscow championship in 1942, which showed everyone that despite the fascist troops that had come very close, the city lives a full life. Each of you, amateur athletes, actually makes your contribution to the development of the state.

Over the course of two days of play, about a hundred participants in Moscow and Sevastopol competed for victory in the doubles. Sailors, officers, generals and admirals, pilot-cosmonauts of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, State Duma deputies, scientists and entrepreneurs from Sevastopol, Crimea, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Tolyatti, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and other cities of Russia met on the courts. The tournament was welcomed by Dmitry Faddeev, Army General, Chairman of the Tennis Club of Veterans of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Alexander Ivanchenkov, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut, President of the Tennis Club of Pilot-Cosmonauts named after Yu.S. Gagarin, Tatyana Lobach, State Duma deputy from Sevastopol, Vladimir Lazarev, Vice-President of the Russian Tennis Federation, Alexander Grinkevich, Rear Admiral, Head of the ChVVMU named after P.S. Nakhimov, Archpriest Sergiy Khalyuta, Dean of the Sevastopol District and others.

Following a tough fight, the champions in Sevastopol were the Moscow-Sevastopol pair Denis Romanov, deputy general director of the sports and recreation complex «Solontsovo», and State Duma deputy Tatyana Lobach, who had been working towards this victory for ten years, participating in the «Bolshaya Beskozyrka» tournaments since 2014. Second place was won by last year’s winners — Sevastopol residents Andrey Korotkov and Alexey Podkovyrov. Sergey Chesnyak from Moscow and Oleg Lezhnev from Sevastopol climbed to the third step of the podium.

In Moscow, the winners were Russian pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of Russia Sergey Zaletin and President of the Tennis Federation of the Republic of Mordovia Nikolay Kalinichenko. Silver went to Vladimir Yezhov, Head of the Department of Computational Mathematics of the Moscow State University branch in Sevastopol, and Alexander Ryazanov, Head of the Russian Holding Company CJSC. Third place went to Hero of Russia, pilot-cosmonaut Sergey Treshchev and Head of the Department of the Rosoboronprom JSC OPK Vadim Usovich.

On the eve of the Russian Navy Day, Konstantin Zatulin and a group of tournament participants laid flowers at the monuments to Kazarsky, Catherine the Great and the Eternal Flame in Sevastopol, following established tradition. On the Day of the Baptism of Rus’, July 28, at the invitation of Bishop Tikhon, Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea and Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev, Konstantin Zatulin, together with Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut Alexander Ivanchenkov, took part in the grand opening of the grand museum and temple complex «New Chersonesos».

The jubilee XX tournament «Bolshaya Beskozyrka» will take place in 2025 in Sevastopol on the eve of the Russian Navy Day.

source: press service of Konstantin Zatulin and the Institute of CIS Countries in Sevastopol

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