To the Lepel Cup

The physical culture and recreation centre hosted the 2nd International Handball Tournament among veterans for the Lepel City Cup. It began with a ceremonial parade of the teams. To the applause and cheers of the fans, the teams from Moscow, Kyiv, Minsk, Novopolotsk, and Lepel marched around the perimeter of the centre's spacious playing court. Moreover, two teams from Minsk, named "Soyuz" and "Legenda", were entered. Thus, in reality, six veteran teams competed for the honorary trophy, many of whose athletes had previously played for the leading professional handball clubs of their countries.

The teams from Moscow ("Napred") and Minsk ("Soyuz") were the first to test their strength. The Russians immediately attacked their opponents' goal, demonstrated high sportsmanship, quickly built a solid lead in goals scored, and confidently won with a final score of 28:9.

The pivot player Viktor Golubev made a significant contribution to the Muscovites' success. During a conversation, he mentioned that the team is composed of players working at the Moscow Machine-Building Plant. This enterprise manufactures blades for helicopters and other parts for rotorcraft. In general, the plant's management prefers handball over other sports, gladly hires athletes of this profile, and supports them in every way. The "Napred" team holds leading positions in the Moscow veteran handball championship.
Then, a fierce struggle unfolded on the sports court between the teams from Kyiv ("Legion") and Novopolotsk ("Alvaris-DENTEK"). As explained by the captain of the Ukrainian sports team, Gennady Degtyar, the team is called "Legion" because the XXI legion in the armies of the ancient Roman Empire was famous not only in military battles but also in sports arenas. The Ukrainian Association of Veterans and Handball Amateurs acted as the organiser and sponsor of the athletes. As for the Novopolotsk team, its name "Alvaris-DENTEK" reflects the brand of a local private construction company that finances the handball players' sports activities. It is therefore not by chance that in this match, as they say, "the blacksmith's hammer met the anvil!". The game proceeded with varying success, with one team leading by only one or two goals. This is fully reflected in the score of the first half, 12:11 in favour of "Legion", who, incidentally, managed to maintain their minimal lead until the end of the match (19:17).

From the very first matches played, it became absolutely clear to all tournament participants and fans that the Moscow and Kiyevlyany teams were in excellent sporting form, had a deep bench of reserve players, the right fighting spirit, and substantial financial backing from wealthy sponsors. All of this yielded positive results. The "Naperyod" team won the Lepel City Cup, and "Legion" took second place. Only the Novopolotsk team "Alvaris-DENTEK" was able to offer real and worthy resistance to the leaders, finishing third in the sporting rankings. This time, the Lepel team ("Lepelka") ended up in fourth place, although they were third last year. The Minsk teams "Soyuz" and "Legenda" took fifth and sixth places in the competition standings.

The winners and prize-winners of the competition were awarded diplomas from the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism of the District Executive Committee, the Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve in Handball, and commemorative medals.

Nikolai GORBACHEV.
In the photo: one of the tense moments of the game during the tournament.
Photo by the author