Kukla's Korner Hockey
Morning Line- Ilya Kovalchuk
by Paul on 12/06/17 at 09:10 AM ET
Comments (14)
"Going to the Olympics is a must. Refusal means surrender. We understand perfectly that the IOC decision is simply politics, and who it is directed against. [We] more or less knew there would be such a decision. But if the athletes go [to Pyeongchang] it will bring the country together. All clean athletes must go. We are athletes, we have nothing to do with politics. For us, it will be an important tournament, it won’t be different from any other.”
“Patriotism and love for our country is in our hearts. There’s no need to shout about it, or even to carry the flag on our chest. God willing, we will manage to perform well and we will sing the anthem.”
“The Olympics is a significant event in ice hockey, in any case. I can’t say that we hold any sort of grudge. Rather, it’s a lack of understanding. After all, we are just athletes, who train every day, practice our craft and dream about representing our country. Yes, they took our flag and anthem, but not our honor and convictions! We know that we are Russians and represent the best country in the world. I believe our fans will supports us even more. We will try to do everything to justify their hopes.”
-Ilya Kovalchuk, RT.com has a bit more on this topic.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: ilya+kovalchuk,
team+russia
Comments
via SovSport (Google translate),
Captain “Washington” Alexander Ovechkin suddenly gave an interview to the city news agency “Moscow”, saying: “I do not think this is right. The decision of the IOC is unreasonable. It’s humiliating, and I’m sorry for the athletes. It’s a huge grief, it’s a shock. It’s difficult for me to advise anything to athletes in this situation. But to go at your own expense and act under a neutral flag - I do not understand this at all. “
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 12/06/17 at 09:27 AM ET
Your government is humiliating, Ovie
Srart there
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie, MI on 12/06/17 at 09:41 AM ET
Your government is humiliating, Ovie
Srart there
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie, MI on 12/06/17 at 08:41 AM ET
Ours is so much better.
Posted by George0211 on 12/06/17 at 09:45 AM ET
Ours is so much better.
My understanding is that both Russia and the US have the same leader.
Posted by CharDeeMacDennis on 12/06/17 at 10:11 AM ET
Ours is so much better.
Looks like propaganda works!
I, for one, am glad to not live in a place that is staggeringly corrupt and has a fairly low quality of life.
On the flip side, they do have free Healthcare and education!
RT.com is a mouthpiece for the Kremlin…
Posted by neffernin on 12/06/17 at 10:40 AM ET
Posted by neffernin on 12/06/17 at 09:40 AM ET
And you really believe ours isn’t? Has nothing to do with propaganda, just not being naive.
Posted by George0211 on 12/06/17 at 10:45 AM ET
Posted by George0211 on 12/06/17 at 08:45 AM ET
Making a moral equivalence between the US and Russian governments?
Good luck with that.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie, MI on 12/06/17 at 11:06 AM ET
And you really believe ours isn’t? Has nothing to do with propaganda, just not being naive.
There are websites to throw around this sort of…..opinion. This isn’t one of them.
Posted by TreKronor on 12/06/17 at 11:31 AM ET
Yep TK, please stay on topic.
Turning this into a political debate was not the design of this post, keep it that way.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 12/06/17 at 11:32 AM ET
There are websites to throw around this sort of…..opinion. This isn’t one of them.
Posted by TreKronor on 12/06/17 at 10:31 AM ET
I didn’t start it.
But back to your original post. I don’t believe he said he didn’t think athletes were not doping, I read it as it he was frustrated that the entire country was banned.
Posted by George0211 on 12/06/17 at 11:37 AM ET
from the AP at CBC.
The International Olympic Committee has banned the Russian team from games as punishment for doping violations at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The IOC, however, plans to invite individual Russians to compete under the Olympic flag.
“Without any doubt we will not declare any kind of blockade,” Putin said in televised remarks after launching his re-election campaign at an automobile factory. “We will not block our Olympians from taking part, if any of them wish to take part as individuals.
“They have been preparing for these competitions for their whole careers, and for them it’s very important.”
Putin said Russia still did not accept accusations that it ran a state-backed doping system around the Sochi Olympics, and called the IOC ruling unfair “collective punishment.”
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 12/06/17 at 12:16 PM ET
Most other countries can’t afford doping of this complexity.
Let Russians continue to dope will ruin the Olympics for other countries. Nothing wrong with a level playing field.
High profile Putin followers will whine and cry, take care Ovi and others.
Posted by WingedRider from Saskatoon, SK on 12/06/17 at 02:31 PM ET
Turning this into a political debate was not the design of this post, keep it that way.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 12/06/17 at 10:32 AM ET
Now that’s naive
Posted by Hootinani on 12/06/17 at 03:15 PM ET
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Does he truly not believe they were doping?
If it were political, half the countries wouldn’t be permitted into the Olympics.
Posted by TreKronor on 12/06/17 at 09:23 AM ET