Athletes from all over the world came to Korea October 12-13 for the Wongu Peace Cup, an international and intercultural sports event including football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, ping-pong, badminton, and martial arts. Athletes participated in the competitions as representatives of their native countries and continents, in an atmosphere of friendship and tolerance.
UPF-Eurasia sent a delegation of 50 athletes, but only a few of them were professionals with experience in international competitions. The combination of youth and experience can bring great success. Our gold medal winners in volleyball are the living proof.
Volleyball team captain, Oleg Kuzmin, commented on the team’s key moment when they were on the verge of losing with a score of 29 to 30: “I was thinking that my whole life depends on this crucial moment. Either I win, or I lose. If I’m not serious enough I’ll surely lose and everything will be over. And immediately the thought came that I was destined to participate in this match, that it was a crucial point of my life. In the end we won 32 to 30, though the Croatian team continued fighting desperately. I felt that I could jump higher and kick stronger, that I could invest all my energy and accomplish it. Finally we won and received gold medals.”
There were other interesting competitions. and we were victorious on different levels. Most important was our desire for expanding friendship and peace through sports.
Among 12 international teams we were the fourth and brought home 2 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals.