A St Petersburg University lecturer is the winner of the Medigames
A St Petersburg University lecturer has become the Medigames champion. He was with a team of Russian doctors and competed with members of medical and health professions from all over the world in the 40th World Medical and Health Games.
~1500
participants from more than 40 countries took part in the games this year.
Medal events were held in numerous sports traditional for summer games: athletics, triathlon, shooting, swimming and football. The national football team of doctors from the Russian Federation took part in the championship for the first time.
The team was represented in two age categories: Classic (without age limit) and Master (over 35 years old). The team of young doctors consisted of players from different regions of Russia: St Petersburg, Moscow, Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Tver and Astrakhan. The team held six 11-a-side games in a round-robin tournament with teams of doctors from: Colombia, Poland, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Chile and Norway. Having won five matches, our team won gold medals.
St Petersburg University as part of the Russian team was represented by Evgenii Zinchenko, an Assistant Lecturer of the Department of Hospital Surgery. He not only participated in the tournament as a player, but was also included in the coaching staff of the Russian national team. Evgenii Zinchenko, a thoracic surgeon, Candidate of Science (Medicine), graduated from St Petersburg University in 2009. He successfully completed internship training, and then clinical residency and doctoral programmes of St Petersburg University.
‘We have been aiming for this victory for a long time. Since the moment the national team was formed until now, the youth football team of Russian doctors has taken part in many international competitions. It was usually possible to demonstrate the skilful playing and good organisation, but something was missing to have an absolute win. This year, at the Olympiad we were able to create a perfect team of people who are sincerely united by one goal. Doctors from different regions of our country, despite the real difficulties, were able to band together, survive the first failure, and not retreat from the cherished goal until the last moment. It was just such a team triumph that made it possible for each of us to feel a full sense of happiness,’ said Evgenii Zinchenko while sharing his impressions.