BSMU double win: University sums up VII Cricket Open International Tournament

From May 12 to May 15, Bashkir State Medical University held the VII Open International Cricket Tournament among foreign students of Russian universities at Dynamo Stadium. The sporting event brought together the best student cricket teams in Russia from:

• BSMU of the Ministry of Health of Russia;

• BSPU named after M. Akmulla;

• South Ural State Medical University;

• Orenburg State Medical University;

• Omsk State Medical University;

• Mordovian State University named after N.P. Ogarev;

• Perm State Medical University named after Academician E.A. Wagenra.

The university cricket team is a multiple winner. The cricket section at BSMU unites more than 50 students. In the tournament, Bashkir State Medical University was represented by two teams.

The opening ceremony was attended by the vice-president of the Cricket Federation of the Republic of Bashkortostan Dinara Yulaeva. She addressed the participants with a welcoming speech, spoke about the specifics of the Federation's work and wished the players a successful game:

"Cricket is a wonderful sport. Now the Republican Cricket Federation, together with the Bashkir State Medical University, has the task of making this sport more widespread. BSMU is a cricket ambassador in the Republic of Bashkortostan. It is thanks to the university that Ufa residents have the opportunity to learn about this sport, come and watch spectacular matches. Today's cricket championship is held among foreign students, unfortunately, there are no Russian teams yet. Cricket has recently become an Olympic sport, the Russian Cricket Federation is faced with the task of forming a team to represent our country at the Olympic Games. You can come to cricket from any sport, most often athletes come from tennis. Welcome to cricket!"

Cricket is a team game that uses ball and bat. The two teams aim to score the most points. Each team has:

• batsmen (batting);

• bowlers (pitching the ball);

• fielders (fielders catching the ball);

• Wicket keepers ("goalkeepers" who must catch the ball if the batsman has not hit it);

• captain.

"The tournament is held every year at the BSMU site. 5-6 teams from other medical universities in Russia come to us to take part in competitions. Our university always supports us in hosting the tournament. Traditionally, two teams of 15 people play for BSMU. We train every day for 3 hours, our university gave us the opportunity to train at the Dynamo stadium," Verma Akash, player of the BSMU team of the Russian Ministry of Health, commented.

"This is the seventh time we have played cricket in Ufa. The last time we took second place in this tournament. Cricket is our national sport. We love playing cricket because it's a team sport: we have to understand each other without words. In Ufa, the teams are well prepared. Today we have 13 people in our team and these are our best players," Akshat Shremali from the Orenburg State Medical University shared his impressions.

For several days, the teams played matches. After a series of intense games, the winners of the tournament became known:

1st place - Bashkir State Medical University No. 2

2nd place - Bashkir State Medical University No. 1

3rd place - Omsk State Medical University.

The International Olympic Committee has decided that cricket will be included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games, which will be held in 2028 in Los Angeles. A short T20 format of about three hours was chosen for the Olympics.