Sport in my life

Sport in my life. As for me, my life is impossible without sport. I agree that sport helps people to stay in good shape, keeps them fit and healthy. Anyone who knows my family can say that it’s strange that I am a table tennis player, because my father plays volleyball.

He was the captain of the students’ team of Moscow Lomonosov’s University. When I was 6 years old, my father began taking me to the gym. While he was playing volleyball, I was running, climbing up the Sweden wall, etc. But all the summer before going to school, I stayed in our yard, playing ping-pong. There were two tables in the yard. I was the youngest, only 7 years old, so the older boys often defeated me and I lost the matches more often then won them. Sometimes I cried.

In September my parents suggested me going to the table tennis club. Of course, I agreed. Some boys, whom I played with, also decided to join this club. That is how it began. I liked training. Some months later I was moved to an older group. That very winter I went to the competition for the first time. Of course, I lost many games, but I liked to compete.

I enjoyed the atmosphere. I started training harder. A year later I took the second place in my age group in the Moscow Region. Next years I participated in different competitions in many cities of our country, such as Cheboksary, N.Novgorod, Petrozavodsk, Tula, Ivanovo, Vladimir, etc. It is interesting to have competitions in the place where you have never been yet. Many times I was the first in the Central zone which includes 17 regions of Russia.

Some years ago I took the third place in all-Russian national competitions in my age group in pairs. Though table-tennis is an individual game, there are team competitions too. I like to play team-games. While playing in the team you always feel support of your team-mates. But you mustn’t think that I am only interested in table-tennis. I am also fond of volleyball, basketball, biathlon, but of course, I am fond of football most of these sports. In summer I always play football with my friends in the yard or sports ground.

I enjoy shouting for my favourite team “SPARTAK” sitting in front of the TV-set. I don’t know why I am a Spartak fan. Maybe, because my father likes this team, maybe, because it is the most popular team in Russia. I always take to heart our national football team’s results. It is true, our football is not having its best time now, but I am sure that soon the time will come when we will be proud of our football team as well as our country in the whole.

Sport in Russia. Russian and especially Soviet sports have many glorious pages. In all times our sportsmen have been the strongest in many kinds of sports. Athletes from Europe and Asia, Africa and America have always been afraid of their Russian opponents. People all over the world know such names as Larisa Latynina, Valery Borzov, Vladislav Tretiak, Irina Rodnina,Vladimir Salnikov and of course Leo Yashin, who was recognized as the best goalkeeper of all times and all nations.

In the Soviet Union junior sport was well-developed. There were many sport clubs, stadiums, grounds and gyms all over the country. Many competitions between schools took place in every town. In our clubs the best coaches worked. Among the sports popular in our country are football, basketball, swimming, volleyball, ice hockey, tennis, gymnastics, and figure skating. A person can choose sports and games for any seasons and for any taste. Unfortunately the situation has changed to the worse in the nineties.

If an athlete wants to reach a good result he has to train abroad. Many qualified coaches left Russia, because of the material factor. The number of free sports clubs for children reduced greatly. More children’s clubs became paid ones. Many stadiums and gyms were changed into markets and shops. Some talented athletes can’t regularly participate in competitions because they must go to other towns and live there at their own expenses, paying for the tickets, hotels and meals with their own money.

Sports equipment and sports clothes are rather expensive, too. But nevertheless Russia has remained the greatest sport power. Our skiers like Larissa Lazutina and Lyubov Egorova, swimmer Alexander Popov, wrestler Alexander Karelin, gymnasts Alexey Nemov and Svetlana Kchorkina, hockey player Pavel Bure and tennis player Eugeny Kafelnikov and others with brilliance defend the honour of our national flag.