Fr om June 7 to 13, Tomsk hosted the Russian Bowling Championship for men, organized under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Sports, the All-Russian Sports Federation of Sports of the Deaf, and with the support of the Tomsk Region Sports Department and the Tomsk Regional Branch of the OSFSG.
The competition took place at the Fakel Bowling Centre, featuring 33 athletes from 11 Russian regions. The opening ceremony was attended by Artem Nesterov, Head of the OSFSG Refereeing Department, as well as Konstantin Sherstobitov and Anna Popello, chairs of the regional branches of the OSFSG and the All-Russian Society of the Deaf.
The results of the tournament held no major surprises, as bowlers from the capital once again confirmed their status as leaders, leaving competitors from other regions far behind. Over five competitive days, medals were awarded in singles, doubles, trios, team events, and the all-around.
While last year’s championship saw a complete dominance by Muscovites, who took the top four spots in the singles event, this year’s competition was slightly more intense. The leadership of Moscow’s Vladimir Grigoriev (1st place) and Alexey Drozhbin (3rd place) was “diluted” by bowlers from the banks of the Neva—Ilya Lipkin (2nd place) and Vladimir Dudin (4th place).
Doubles Results:
1st place — Moscow-2 (Alexey Stepin and Alexey Drozhbin)
2nd place — Republic of Crimea (Nikolay Shershakov and Alexander Antropov)
3rd place — Moscow-1 (Vladimir Grigoriev and Dmitry Kuznetsov)
3rd place — Moscow-3 (Arsen Akopyan and Alexey Savchenko)
In the trios event, only the order of winners among Moscow’s leaders changed. This time, the capital’s first team (Alexey Stepin, Alexey Drozhbin, Arsen Akopyan), remembering last year’s painful defeat by their fellow Muscovites (Alexey Savchenko, Vladimir Grigoriev, Dmitry Kuznetsov), managed to turn the rivalry in their favor.
In the team battles, Moscow was once again in a league of its own, far ahead of the competition. However, Volgograd unexpectedly snatched silver, improving on their performance from last season.
Team Results:
1st place — Moscow (Alexey Stepin, Alexey Drozhbin, Arsen Akopyan, Vladimir Grigoriev, Dmitry Kuznetsov, Alexey Savchenko)
2nd place — Volgograd Region (Petr Kalachev, Vladimir Myasnikov, Denis Famin, Alexander Belyakov, Andrey Lavin, Anton Mezinov)
3rd place — Samara Region, Republic of Crimea, Tomsk Region (Sergey Putilin, Nikolay Shershakov, Alexander Antropov, Ivan Okolelov, Vladislav Arzhanov, Valery Luzan)
3rd place — St. Petersburg (Alexey Moiseev, Alexey Vasiliev, Vladimir Dudin, Viktor Myasnikov, Ilya Lipkin, Alexey Lomtev)
A minor sensation occurred in the all-around, wh ere St. Petersburg’s Ilya Lipkin put up a strong fight against Moscow’s bowling elite, rightfully earning his fourth bronze medal. Meanwhile, Muscovite Arsen Akopyan took the gold.
Moscow led the medal count with 5 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals. St. Petersburg followed with 1 silver and 4 bronze medals, while the Republic of Crimea closed the top three with 1 silver and 1 bronze.
Ksenia Dudina, Senior Coach of the Russian National Bowling Team:
“The Russian Men’s Bowling Championship in Tomsk was held at the highest level. I’d like to highlight the excellent work of the refereeing team, who performed flawlessly. Special thanks to the organizers, sports judges, and technical referee Alexey Yakovlev.
Currently, the leaders are Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Volgograd Region. For several years now, these regions have been coming to competitions with full lineups, including athletes who are part of the Russian national team. The competition among men has always been and will remain fierce, so I won’t single anyone out—except perhaps St. Petersburg’s Ilya Lipkin, who is now ranked among the top three.
This year saw fewer participants compared to last year, as many couldn’t attend due to changes in the championship’s schedule and location. I’m confident next year will bring more competitors. Still, we had 33 participants from 11 regions—a significant drop from previous years. I strongly urge regional branches of the ARSFD to pay more attention to this sport, assist with funding for athletes, and develop bowling locally. That way, we might see new faces and perhaps discover future champions. The athletes’ medals are the result of hard work—both theirs and their coaches’, who deserve special thanks for their dedication.”
Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Artemy Antonov
Photos: Viktoria Sekisova
Translation: Daria Kudelina
