October 23, 2021 2:36 P.M.
State Duma MK Dmitry Svishchev believes that visa issues for Canada will negatively affect Russian figure skaters ahead of the start of the Skate Canada Grand Prix stage.
“It’s psychological pressure. After all, the rest of the athletes will already be there, acclimatize, get used to the ice, stay in hotels and connect to the tournament. And ours will sit on suitcases and think whether or not they will arrive. It will certainly not help the psychological balance before departure. Figure skating is a difficult technical sport, where any psychological depression can affect an athlete’s performance.
Alexey Yagudin said it was a political decision – I wouldn’t be in a hurry to say it, let’s see what happens next. It all depends on the organizers. They first had to check for possible visa problems. After all, the problem was not traced right away, but in advance. And they had to solve it. An organization as powerful as the Canadian Figure Skating Federation should have taken care of it. I really wouldn’t want to take this as a provocation, but it’s still a flaw which unfortunately can cause issues with the performance of our guys. But we hope for them they have such a serious increase now, ”Svishchev told Gazeta.Ru.
Among those who do not yet have a visa are Kamila Valieva, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Alena Kostornaya, Evgeny Semenenko and Makar Ignatov. The Russian delegation is due to fly to Canada on October 24. The competition will take place in Vancouver from October 29 to 31.
Earlier, Svishchev called for the non-issuance of Canadian visas to skaters interfere with the preparations for the Olympic Games 2022 in Beijing.
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