Sports Minister: Hurkou would go to World Cup anyway

Euroradio: Belarusian Muay Thai fighter Vital Hurkou has gone through into semifinals of the Muay Thai World Championship. Are you happy about his success?

Alyaksandr Shamko: I supported him in the sense that he went on this trip ...

Euroradio: Was it your initiative in solving problems with the financing of his trip to the championship?

Shamko: when we learned about the problem, we supported him. I believe that if you won the championship of the republic, you are the strongest, and you should go and prove yourself at the world championships. This is obvious, and the question of financing was not relevant. Money was found, and the issue was ... more controversial, possibly as a result of some interpretations of the statements made by athletes, coaches ... I hope he will fought there with dignity. So far, so good. And on his return we will analyze everything.

Euroradio: Are you saying that if the issue was not raised in the social media and people would not have started to collect money for vital's trip, the Sports Ministry would still solve the issue?

Shamko: Of course! He is the strongest in Belarus. Therefore, when the situation escalated, the answer was unequivocal. We talked with the management of the federation, with the head coach ... The issues was slightly heated by the media.

Hurkou's participation in the competition was undecided. Vital, who also sings in the Brutto group, won the championship of Belarus, but later it became clear that the Ministry of Sports supposedly had no money for the trip. In less than a day the athlete's supporters collected the necessary three thousand euros. After that, the money was also found by the officials. As a result, Hurkou promised to transfer the collected funds to the children's home.