During the pickleball World Cup matches in Danang this week, thermometer readings reached 35-40 degrees, but the heat in one of Vietnam’s largest cities was not only due to the air temperature.
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For the competition in Asia, the Lithuanian delegation presented three teams of different ages and faced a value dilemma.
Upon arriving in the communist-ruled Asian country, it became clear that the Russians who came to compete there wanted more than the competition rules allowed.
Although representatives of this country had to compete under a neutral status due to the war in Ukraine, representatives of the aggressor country appealed to the Vietnamese authorities to be able to participate under the name and symbols of Russia.
Upon learning this, Ukrainians and Lithuanians discussed what to do and began clarifying the situation with the competition organizers.
Ukrainians, who have recently suffered even more from Russian missile attacks on civilians, declared that they would not participate in the competition if the Russians gained the right to start with their flag.
The Lithuanians planned such a bold step as well, despite the fact that this week the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports issued a statement suggesting not to boycott competitions in which Russians participate.
- Statement from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports:
- The ministry strongly condemns the decisions of international sports organizations and sports federations to ease restrictions on representatives of Russia and Belarus. As the war against Ukraine continues, such actions do not reflect reality, undermine fundamental sports values, and send a wrong signal to the world.
- Understanding the complexity of the situation, the ministry suggests Lithuanian athletes not boycott competitions abroad. By withdrawing, they would not only risk sanctions but also lose cherished professional goals and opportunities to participate in competitions they have been preparing for many years.
- The withdrawal of our athletes from tournaments would also ease the path to victories for representatives of the aggressors. We support the principle of fighting in sports arenas followed by Ukrainian athletes as well. However, Lithuania’s principled position remains unchanged – athletes from Russia and Belarus should not participate in any international competitions while the war is ongoing.
At first, there was no clear response from the pickleball championship organizers in Danang, but eventually the Vietnamese made a decision favorable to Ukrainians and Lithuanians to leave the representatives of the aggressor country with a neutral status.
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“Discussions and arguments lasted almost all night before the start of the championship,” informed Lithuanian delegation representative Augustinas Deksnys. “But after rather sharp talks with the representatives of Ukraine and Lithuania, the tournament organizers decided to reject the host country’s, that is Vietnam’s, wish and even threatened to cancel the event altogether.
Everything was resolved correctly, although there was much concern and doubt.”
Convinced that the Russians would remain without the right to use their symbols, the Lithuanians focused on the competition, which involved a total of 64 countries.
Lithuania delegated three teams – in the “Open” category, which is the strongest and closest to professionals in level, as well as in older age categories: +50 and +60.
- Pickleball – a rapidly growing paddle sport combining elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It is fast-paced, easy to learn, and incredibly fun to play due to long rallies during the game. Pickleball is most often played as doubles matches. Singles matches are also very popular and interesting for players seeking greater challenges.
All three teams successfully passed the group stage and advanced to the knockout rounds.
In this sport, which has only been more strongly developed in Lithuania in recent years, Lithuanians had to acknowledge the superiority of their opponents.
In the “Open” category, our country’s team lost 1:3 to England.
In the +50 category, Lithuanians lost to Spain, and in the +60 category – to Singapore.
“However, both team members and leaders believe that participation and results are definitely pleasing and positive. This is still a very new but rapidly growing racket sport worldwide, especially in the USA and Asian countries,” summarized A. Deksnys.
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