Judo Master Class: Putin Commemorates Old Instructor's Legacy at St. Petersburg Tournament
A major international judo tournament was held today in St. Petersburg. Hundreds of young athletes took part in the competition which is held annually in memory of extraordinary coach, Anatoly Rakhlin, trainer of dozens of champions and masters of sports. One of his students was Vladimir Putin, who visited the tournament today.
Our correspondent Pavel Zarubin reporting from St. Petersburg.
"Lie down!"
"Go on, grapple him! Hit him harder!"
"Arms, don't forget about your arms!"
"To your left! Great job!"
Coaches are overwhelmed with emotion and their students can hardly breathe after the match but they are ready to achieve victory, no matter what.
"You need to keep going, going, going, going! You got up and started to defend, you don't need to! We still have time".
- Greetings. Will your pupil win?
- We'll see. It's sports that always wins.
The final stage of the youth judo tournament was held on the 80th birthday of Anatoly Rakhlin. President and martial artist Putin, who used to be his pupil, came to St. Petersburg to take part in the Economic Forum but couldn't miss the occasion.
President Putin: "Anatoly Rakhlin had always taught us to pursue only our goals to move only forward overcoming our difficulties to make friends, and respect our opponents. In this regard, I want to welcome all of our foreign guests. Young athletes from 12 countries are taking part in today's tournament. Thank you very much for coming to our tournament".
Girls from Germany liked it in Russia, despite the rumors they heard in their homeland.
"My parents were afraid to let me go to Russia, but everything turned out to be fine".
The presence of Putin clearly had a positive impact on the competitors.
- I wanted to show the President that I can fight well. I didn't want to lose.
- So you won?
- Yes.
- You're a girl, why do you do judo?
- My dad signed me up for it.
- Do you enjoy it?
- Yes.
For obvious reasons, judo has recently become one of the most popular sports in Russia. It's not just about the desire to become stronger.
- Judo is based on a special philosophy. Judo teaches us to use opponent's strength against him.
- What do you want him to become?
- Well, it depends entirely on him. I want him to become a decent person. Either an Olympic champion or president.
Anatoly Rakhlin had trained more than 100 masters of judo. He trained Putin for eleven years. He wasn't just his coach. He was his mentor in sports and daily life. Putin once even admitted that Rakhlin played a decisive role in his life. This five year old footage says a lot. After Rakhlin's funeral Putin ordered his guards to leave him alone and spent a few minutes walking the streets of St. Petersburg. According to the top Russian coaches, Putin's attitude to sports and to judo, in particular, is one of the reasons sports schools have become so popular.
Mikhail Rakhlin, son of Anatoly Rakhlin: "Our leader has shown us that sports can help an ordinary boy from St. Petersburg to become whomever he wants.”
Those who won a prize, but not first place, are very upset. One of the girls even cried.
- Lady luck didn't smile upon me.
- Does crying help in judo?
- No. It was just very emotional.
- Participation is more important than winning.
- But winning is important?
- Well, yeah.
And they have many victories ahead of them.
President Putin: "I'm sure that many of those who are participating in this youth tournament will soon compete in major international tournaments and be the winners of important matches".
Before leaving, Put once again greeted all of the participants, as is customary in judo. bowing as a sign of respect.
Pavel Zarubin, Andrey Melnikov Dmitry Yermolenko, and Pyotr Rovnov Vesti, St. Petersburg.