In Ukraine, the handshake at the end of a tennis match causes a stir. The hero of this gesture was 16-year-old young athlete Elizaveta Kotliar, who was eliminated from the Australian Open junior tournament by Russian Vlada Minchova. When the match is over, the two shake hands at the net. However, it is a sporting gesture that is not well received in Kiev.
Government condemnation and father’s apologies: “It won’t happen again”
The Minister of Sports of the Kiev government, Matviy Bidnyi, soon intervened: “My first impression is that the Russians provoked our athlete,” he wrote on his Facebook profile. “Anyone who has attended major tournaments knows how nervous athletes can be. easy targets for provocations. VLet’s see how the Russians will try to use Ukrainian athletes for their own propaganda at each tournament.” “Before commenting on the episode and making emotional decisions – he continues – we want to understand the reasons for such an action. “We will listen to Elizaveta and her parents to ensure that the decisions we make together with the sports federation are balanced,” he said.
Such a reaction prompted the father of the young tennis player to assure that Elizaveta “is a sincere patriot of Ukraine, always has been and will remain so in the future.” A father trying to defend his daughter before his country’s government for a sporting act described as a “mistake”, for which he “deeply regrets” and “promise[s]it will never happen again”. “I am not making excuses, but I want to explain the situation. Lisa is only 16 years old and does not yet have enough experience to participate in important competitions such as Grand Slam tournaments. Unfortunately, she could not control her emotions. She made an automatic gesture towards her opponent without realizing that he was an athlete from the country that attacked our homeland,” he wrote on social media. Wrote.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
