Sport Invictus Games
Defense Minister Pistorius defeats Prince Harry in the goal wall shootout
As of: 02:06 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Prince Harry had to line up at the goal wall – and didn’t cut a good figure compared to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), 2nd from left at the back
Source: Screenshot/ZDF
Unusual visit to the “Current Sports Studio”: Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Prince Harry were guests on ZDF at the opening of the Invictus Games, the competitions for disabled soldiers in Düsseldorf. The shooting on the goal wall clearly went off.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius demonstrated significantly more skill on the goal wall in ZDF’s “Current Sports Studio” than Britain’s Prince Harry. The 63-year-old SPD minister hit the lower hole in the wall twice on Sunday night, and narrowly missed it several times.
Harry, on the other hand, didn’t score at all – and had already suspected that. The 38-year-old took a deep breath and asked the team of moderators what would happen if they had zero hits at the end. “Why do I have to start?” he asked at the beginning. And when he passed the ball to Pistorius after the first three misses, he commented on the quality of the ball: “It’s rubbish.”
Alluding to a previously shown article criticizing national soccer coach Hansi Flick after the national team lost the game, Harry finally said to Pistorius with a laugh: “Is that the new soccer coach for Germany now? You can still do that on the side. The man for all occasions, so to speak.”
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Prince Harry at the opening ceremony in Düsseldorf
What: REUTERS
Harry and Pistorius were guests at the “Aktuelle Sportstudio” on the occasion of the Invictus Games. The sporting competitions for war-disabled soldiers opened on Saturday in Düsseldorf, marking the first time in Germany.
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On Saturday afternoon, Harry and Pistorius signed their names in the city’s Golden Book in the Düsseldorf town hall. Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) welcomed the prominent guests. However, there were no selfies or autographs – much to the annoyance of the waiting fans.
20,000 spectators at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf
The opening ceremony began with the national team teams entering the Düsseldorf Merkur Game Arena. Around 20,000 spectators rose from their seats and applauded enthusiastically for the Ukrainian athletes.
In his speech, Defense Minister Pistorius recalled that Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s war of aggression for one and a half years now. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also highlighted Ukraine’s special role in a video message. Prince Harry, visibly moved, also praised the commitment and fearlessness of the Ukrainians.
The Ukraine team at the opening ceremony
Source: dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd
In total, more than 500 athletes from 21 countries are taking part in the games. More than 1,000 family members and carers traveled to support them. “Look at your uniform,” Harry said in his welcome speech. “It may no longer be a camouflage suit, but you have a flag on your shoulder or your chest again. You and your families – you are part of a team again.”
Pistorius defends Invictus Games against criticism
Pistorius rejected criticism that the competitions were a heroization of the war in the “Aktuelle Sportstudio”. “I don’t understand this criticism at all,” he said. The opposite is the case, the Defense Minister continued – because the Invictus Games will now show what horror war means. The participants could also be role models and show how you can fight your way back into life through sport.
When asked about the fact that in other countries, such as the USA, war veterans were celebrated as heroes, Pistorius said: “We have a different tradition. We have a huge break from Nazi Germany when it comes to our military tradition.” For decades, Germany dealt with the Bundeswehr differently than other nations did with their armed forces. “That has been changing for some time and it has changed again due to the war in Ukraine. There is a renewed awareness that armed forces are needed.”
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Prince Harry himself served in Afghanistan as an officer in the British Army. According to him, encounters with seriously injured people played a decisive role in initiating the Invictus Games in 2014.
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