Yelizaveta Goryunova and Enzhe Garipova, students of the Institute of Sports of the Volga Region University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, are players of the Ak Bars Dinamo hockey team in Kazan. In the 2020-2021 season the team failed to take the coveted gold medal. This season Ak Bars Dinamo can take revenge and clinch the cherished title of Russian Super League Women's Championship Winner. The athletes shared their emotions about the victory and told how they came to this sport.
According to Elizaveta Goryunova, the defender of the Kazan national team, in the final the team faced their main rival Dynamo-Elektrostal from the Moscow Region once again. Last year Dynamo's derby ended in favour of Moscow, but the players from the Republic of Tatarstan proved to be more persistent:
- It was quite difficult to play against them and take points in the championship. But we managed to do it, and thanks to the persistent efforts of the head coach, the team and the support of the fans we became the champions of Russia," said Elizaveta.
It is a great pity that midfielder Enje Garipova could not play in the final bout. The athlete was cheering for her team by the TV screen:
- I was not at the last round, I was watching the game on TV and it was twice as hard and exciting. I felt like I was running with the girls the whole game. And of course I wanted to share with everyone that we became champions!
Ange, as it turned out, has a rich history in hockey:
- I've been in the sport since second grade. For seven years I played for the national team of Tatarstan. Then I was invited to play in the High League, and then I started training for the Super League. It was hard for me to play in that championship, I got a lot of injuries. It affected the team psychologically. It is not unimportant that the teachers at the university are also very supportive. Without it it would have been much more difficult. I am very grateful to study at our university.
