On February 28, the Paralympic Committee of Moldova held a “Gala of Paralympians”, which traditionally honored athletes with disabilities according to the results of the past year. All 5 members of the national team, who represented the country at the Summer Paralympic Games in Paris, were recognized as the best Paralympians.
The Chairman of the Moldovan Paralympic Committee Oleg Kretsul, in an interview with Logos Press, spoke about his vision of the most pressing problems for the national Paralympic movement.
LP: – At the Gala it is customary to summarize the results of the past year. How do you assess it for the Paralympians? Are you satisfied with the results in Paris, or could you have expected more?
– We planned to win 3 medals at the Paralympics. We are satisfied with our results, although yes, we would have liked more. It is important that we showed the whole country that we have Paralympic athletes who are able to compete for medals at the highest international level. We have promising young people who will grow up for the Paralympic Games in the USA in 2028 and bring more medals.
We are proud of the silver medal won by Ion Basok for the first time at the Paralympics. This is a very important achievement in his sporting career and in general for the Paralympic movement in our country. He was very lucky to have a coach – Vitalii Pavlovich (Vitalii Gligor – honored coach, master of sports, first vice-chairman of the Paralympic Committee of the Republic of Moldova – author’s note), with whom he had numerous training camps. Including in Georgia, in the mountains. We will strive to have our country’s anthem played at the Paralympic Games when we win a gold medal.
LP: – During your sports career at the Paralympic Games you have won 3 medals of different values. Which one is the most valuable to you?
– The bronze medal in Paris was harder for me than the gold medal in Beijing. I had a chance to participate in both Olympics and Paralympics. I want to say that the preparation was equally difficult, regardless of the status of the competition. We inculcate the will to win in our Paralympians, and this is bearing fruit – two athletes returned to Moldova with medals from Paris. The progress is obvious, but we realize that we have a lot of development work to do.
LP: – What is the reason why the president of the National Olympic Committee Nicolai Juravskiis absent at the Paralympic Gala? How do you assess the cooperation between the Paralympic Committee and the NOCC?
– I know Nikolai Zhuravsky very well, since the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, even before the accident (Oleg with his wife and brother was in a traffic accident in 1997, he was the only survivor – author’s note.) We communicate with him, cooperate. Our organizations have room to grow, and we could both use the exchange of experience. I think we will succeed!
I don’t know why he couldn’t come to our event. I had just returned from a trip and was not involved in the organizational process.
LP: – Inna Cherney, a judoka who made her debut at the Paralympics in Paris, talked about the difficulties she faces at the everyday level. In particular, when ordering a cab, not all drivers are sympathetic to her request for help. Does the Paralympic Committee help athletes outside of training?
– I understand very well how difficult it is for athletes with disabilities in terms of living conditions. Inna has friends and acquaintances who help her as much as possible. It is very hard for Paralympic athletes alone.
The Paralympic Committee is interested in athletes being focused on their performances in tournaments, on preparation for them and not being concerned about everyday life. I am convinced that increasing the number and duration of training camps will make a big difference. There they are surrounded only by coaches and teammates, so it is much easier for them at the training camp than at home. Among our priorities is to attract new partners, which would allow us to make the training cycle of Paralympic athletes continuous.
LP: – Is the assistance of the Ministry of Education and Research sufficient and has it become more substantial after the successful performance of the national team at the Paralympics last year?
– The Ministry and I are united by the understanding that people with disabilities have the right to be active in sport just like everyone else. It is important to tell about such people, because among them there are very worthy and promising athletes, with an extraordinary fate. They represent our country abroad, it is a great honor and responsibility.
We are very happy that the Government understands us. I welcome the decision taken by the Government, according to which Paralympians receive equal monetary bonuses for prize-winning places in international competitions with participants of the Olympics. It is important that Paralympians feel care and attention, then they will be interested in improving their results.
LP: – What are the main goals set by the Paralympic Committee for 2025? What disciplines will be prioritized?
– I would like to mention para-judo. We are preparing for the World and European Championships. We are doing everything necessary for the athletes to prepare for the competitions and concentrate on their performances. I am sure the athletes will demonstrate good results.
Para-athletics is also developed in our country. Dmitry Prodan (head coach of the national teams in para-athletics and para-powerlifting, vice-chairman of the Paralympic Committee – author’s note) is successfully working in this direction. We strive to improve the results of athletes in these disciplines. We are trying to increase the representation of Paralympians in various sports. In the foreseeable future we will be able to participate in the Winter Paralympic Games. At the moment, the infrastructure does not allow us to do this, but we will ensure the training of our Paralympians at foreign bases.
At the Paralympic Gala it was officially announced that Oleg Kretsul is ending his sports career. The athlete, who celebrated his 50th birthday on February 21, decided to focus on administrative and patronage activities. He heads a foundation that supports judokas, both Paralympians and Olympians.
Other athletes with disabilities, who did not participate in the Paralympics, but achieved success at other international tournaments, were not left out of the forum. Para-athletes Eugeniu Munteanu, Victoria Rotaru, Alexandra Cerquez, Maxim Ciobanu, Andrian Zabulica, para-judoists Semion Bondarenco, Anatoliy Bulat, Anastasia Kushnir and para-powerlifters Mihail Blanaru and Egor Brikulski received special awards from the Paralympic Committee and partners of the event.
The next Paralympics in 2028 will be hosted by Los Angeles, USA. Despite the time available, the Paralympic Committee and its partners are actively preparing for it now. Within the framework of initiatives to develop Paralympic sport in Moldova and improve the training conditions for athletes, the Paralympic silver medalist Ion Basoc received 100 thousand lei.
Earlier, the 27-year-old para-judoist received 2.6 million lei from the government for winning the medal. Oleg Kretsul received 2 million lei, Larisa Marinenkova – 300,000 lei and Gheorghe Spinu – 200,000 lei. The coaches who trained the prize-winning athletes received similar monetary prizes.
