Inaugural edition of world deaf shooting championships opens in Kazan

The first ever edition of the World Deaf Shooting Championships kicked off today at the Shooting Centre of the Dynamo Sports Complex in Mirny Township. The tournament brought together 66 athletes from 16 countries; 19 athletes represent Russia. There are no Tatarstan shooters on the Russian national team roster. 

Present at the opening ceremony were Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) Valery Rukhledev; President of the Russian Committee of Deaf Sports Alexander Romantsov; and Vladimir Leonov, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan. 

Shooting is the earliest discipline in deaf sports, which was included in the competition programme of the first Summer Deaflympic Games 1924 in Paris (FRA). To qualify for the Deaflympics and competitions approved by the ICSD, athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 db in their ‘better ear’. Sports for the deaf are played with all the same rules as able-bodied sports. The first European Deaf Shooting Championships were held in 1967. The world championships in Kazan will be an inaugural edition in the history of this sport.

The ceremony started with the flag parade of the participating nations: Hungary, Germany, Greece, Israel, India, Cyprus, Chinese Taipei, Latvia, Mongolia, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Finland, Czech Republic, Croatia and Switzerland. A welcome letter by Russia’s Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko, who was unable to attend the event, was read out loud for all those attending the ceremony. “I’m confident that the first-ever World Deaf Shooting Championships will be held in a good and positive way and will become an important stage in the sports career of every participant. I wish good luck to all shooters,” the letter read.   

Rustam Minnikhanov extended his sincere greetings to all the participants: “I’m very pleased that the competition is hosted at one of Kazan’s beautiful venues - the Dynamo Sports Complex. We are happy that we have the opportunity to host such a major international sporting event." The President also expressed hope that the tournament participants will be able to get to know the Tatarstan capital better and paid his respects to the deaf athletes’ courage. “Despite hearing impairment, you fulfilled yourselves in such a sport and achieve impressive results,” he said to the audience and wished the athletes all the best of luck at the tournament.

 For his part, Alexander Romantsov thanked the organisers for creating such wonderful conditions for the tournament. “We hope that all athletes will perform well, improve their results and have only positive impression of the tournament in Kazan,” he said.

Valery Rukhledev also expressed his delight that the first-ever World Deaf Shooting Championships are hosted in Kazan. He reminded that the Summer Deaflympic Games will be held next year in Turkey and this tournament will be one of the stages of their preparation. Valery Rukhledev expressed confidence that the Kazan competition will be delivered to the highest possible standard.

After the World Deaf Shooting Championships were declared open, the national anthems of Russia and Tatarstan were played. No competitions were scheduled for today, so after the opening ceremony the athletes took group photos and had some friendly chats.