June 1, Lepel /Own. inf./. A taekwondo section of the Belarusian public association "Taekwondo" has been operating in Lepel since 2008. Coach Ina Popova trains young athletes aged from six to eleven. Ina herself graduated from the Belarusian State University of Physical Education and Sports and constantly improves her athletic skills. Ina has dozens of prize-winning places in numerous national competitions to her credit.
Although the children have only been learning skills in the section for two years, they have already repeatedly brought fame to the Lepel region at prestigious national competitions. The young athletes defended the honour of the district at the national championship held in Minsk. In addition to the athletes from Lepel, young athletes from Lida, Brest, Minsk, and Osipovichi participated in the championship. Among boys aged six to seven, in the 26 kg weight category, Ilya Evstafyev took second place; third place in the 34 kg weight category, aged eight to nine, was awarded to Artur Kireev; and in the 25 kg weight category, aged ten to eleven, Sasha Semenov took third place.
Among girls, in the 29 kg weight category, Daria Smazhevskaya (six to seven years old) took third place. In the "Tul" exercises competition, among yellow belts, in the ten to eleven age category, Anna Bykova took first place, and Lena Smazhevskaya took second place. Among green belts, Nastya Tukhta (eight to nine years old) was awarded second place. In "Sparring", among girls in the 25 kg weight category, Ksyusha Galuza (eight to nine years old) took first place; second place in the 31 kg weight category was awarded to Nastya Tukhta (eight to nine years old). In the 38 kg weight category, Lena Smazhevskaya (ten to eleven years old) was awarded second place. Among boys, in the 28 kg weight category, Denis Shnitko (eight to nine years old) took second place.
The trip to the Tenth International Tournament "The Best of the Best", held in Rychany (Czech Republic), left many unforgettable impressions on the young athletes. In addition to athletes from Belarus, guests from Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia, and the Czech Republic participated in the tournament. The athletes from Lepel also enjoyed success here.