yet another athlete joins the Ukrainian army

the war between Russia and Ukraine continues its course and continues to affect the world of sport, which is increasingly closer to the political aspect. The heartbreaking situation that is being experienced and the Russian bombardments that have not stopped sounding have led athletes to put on combat overalls to get this conflict to stop. One of the voices advocating for this to happen is Sergiy Stakhovsky. This 36-year-old tennis player has enlisted in the Ukrainian army to fight.

When Stakhovsky fell in the previous phase of the past Open de Australia He posted a message on social media thanking tennis for everything it had given him throughout his 15 years as a professional. Although not entirely explicit, that message was interpreted as a withdrawal. Nobody could imagine that a month and a half later the Ukrainian tennis player would change the racket for the rifle to defend his country from the Russian attack.

In an interview given to Sky Newsconfirmed that he has enlisted, while staying very active on his account Twitter informing about what happens in Ukrainian lands. There are many other tennis players who fight for peace and use their position to do so. Among them are the Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina or the russian Andrey Rublevbut none have reached the point of hanging up the racket to pick up the rifle like Stakhovsky.

“The army has opened the reserve list for anyone who is willing to fight, gather weapons and be part of the territorial resistance. There are many people on the list. I have no military experience. I have experience with weapons, privately. I see no reason why most men in my country have to put their lives at risk and send their family away from Ukraine while they stay,” explained a tennis player who wants to be another hero for his people.

character on the track

with four titles ATP to his credit, the highest position in the ranking was occupied in 2010, when he became number 31 in the world. The modest and powerful server made headlines in 2013 when he was able to outplay Roger Federer in his garden Wimbledon. He has always shown himself to be an outspoken person, such as when he was critical of the “political decision” of Australia for deporting Novak Djokovic and leave it without being able to participate in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Stakhovsky applauded the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for wanting to “defend his country” to the point of “even risking his own life”. “We want to be a normal, civilized country, with a democracy where you can elect your president,” he added. He recalled that Russian interference is not new and charged Western countries for having abandoned them: “Where have they been for these eight years? None of us believed that something like this could happen and yet it happened. No European or world leader is ready to help Ukraine.

In Spain it was news in 2017 for confronting through the networks with the fans of the Vallecano Ray opposed to the signing of his compatriot Roman Zozulya. “Dear Rayo ultras. You seem uneducated and closed-minded individuals. Your club does not deserve a player like Zozulya,” he wrote to defend the accused neo-Nazi striker. The same soccer player also recently spoke out about the invasion of Russia.

more athletes

Stakhovsky is not the only Ukrainian athlete who has been involved in the conflict. This Sunday you could see, for example, Vasyl Lomachenko decked out in army garb. The boxer, still active, is known for having been a multiple world champion in various categories defending the colors of his country. Born in Belgorod-Dnestrovskyin the region of Odesa, now he has been forced to get off the ring to take up arms.

It is the boxers who are being more active. Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, the two retired heavyweight world champions, are now defenders of their homeland in the conflict against Russia. The first wanted to be president of Ukraine, but the tough battle between dozens of candidates made him abandon the race. He then opted for mayor of Kiev and was part of the movement that ended up overthrowing the president Viktor Yanukovych.

Wladimir has not had that political desire of his brother, but has decided to go to the front in the face of the growing tension of the conflict with Russia. The father of the two brothers was a high-ranking soldier in the disappeared Soviet Union. The Klitschko brothers want to put Putin on the ropes, but they will not be alone. The tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky will be at the front with the aim of stopping the advance of the Russian army.

[Más información: Karpov vs Kaspárov, el diputado ruso contra el activista anti-Putin: la guerra llega al ajedrez]

Russia-Ukraine War

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