After the conclusion of the fifth day of the BRICS Games, Russia emerged at the top of the leaderboard with an impressive tally of 239 medals, out of which 112 were gold, 78 silver, and 49 were bronze.
Belarus secured the second position on the table with a total of 94 awards (19 gold, 36 silver, and 39 bronze), while China clinched the third spot with a haul of 36 medals (17 gold, 11 silver, and 8 bronze). The fourth, fifth and sixth positions were bagged by Iran (4 gold, 10 silver, and 15 bronze), Uzbekistan (3 gold, 7 silver, and 18 bronze), and Brazil (2 gold, 2 silver, and 8 bronze) respectively.
India placed seventh with 14 honors (1 gold, 3 silver, and 10 bronze), and Egypt, South Africa, and UAE found themselves lower on the chart with 17th, 20th, and 29th ranks respectively.
These standings were arrived at after a thrilling display of talents across various sports spanning athletics, badminton, synchronized swimming, artistic gymnastics, rowing, karate, table tennis, weightlifting, wushu, sambo, wrestling, basketball, diving, and tennis over five days.
In an interesting excerpt from one of the matches, Brazilian national basketball player Luiz Guilherme Matos shared his strategy against the Cuban team: “We had seen the Cuban team before and realized that they would beat us on the court, so we tried our best to develop an advantage in the digital phase and we succeeded. Further on the court, we just tried to keep the gap.”
Jarias Musquera Jeyson Alonso from Venezuela, a bronze medalist at the BRICS Games, commented about his weightlifting experience at the event: “Venezuela is a country where they love weightlifting. It was important for me to get to the BRICS Games and perform in Russia. I have many friends from your country. The impressions are the most amazing. Everything is great here. I didn’t even expect it to be like this. When I performed, I remembered my coach, who passed away 5 years ago. He meant a lot to me.”
The BRICS Sports Games, inaugurated in the Republic of Tatarstan’s capital, Kazan, on 12 June, will conclude on 23 June. Approximately 4,000 participants from more than 90 countries are taking part in the event which will provide awards across 27 disciplines.
The BRICS Games are an annual multi-sport spectacle. Typically, the host country is the one that chairs the BRICS association for that year. In 2024, Russia will have this honour.
Photo: bricskazan2024.games
