Belgorod State University students Ksenia Ivanchuk, Angelica Bashmina, and alumna Elizaveta Reshetnik, brought home gold and silver medals from the European Championships in Loutraki, Greece
Dr Mikhail Filatov and Dr Igor Nikulin, coaches from the Physical Education Department, take the credit for guiding these talented athletes this far. Ms Ivanchuk is a rising star in the sport, having already become the Russian Student Champion, and National Champion in the last 12 months. She took victory over her Turkish opponent with her left and right arms in the Junior section, to take a double gold for her category. Ms Bashmina never lost on her way to the final, a remarkable achievement considering a step up in weight category for her. The pressure of the final was too much, though, and she took home double silver.
Ms Reshetnik, who graduated in 2017, brought the drama. She was defeated once in the preliminary rounds, a shock in itself. However, she still made it to the final where she faced her nemesis, the Slovakian eight-time world champion, Snezhana Babayeva. Having lost out to her in a number of finals, this time she managed to defeat her to take double gold. As if that wasn't enough, she beat her in the Super Final again, in what was one of the most dramatic European Finals anyone can remember.
In October in Romania, the athletes will have to go again at the World Championships.
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