Judo, badminton, hunting, swimming, horse riding… In the long list of the Russian Prime Minister’s sports activities here another one to add for winter – ice-hockey. Journalists were invited to witness Vladimir Putin playing – and scoring goals.
The fact that Putin is in good physical shape is no secret to the world: the PM has been seen shooting a whale with a dart in the sea and a Siberian tiger with a tranquilizer gun in the forest; driving a yellow Renault Formula One race car and scaling an alpine climbing wall without the aid of a safety harness…
RIA Novosti / Aleksey Nikolsky
This time the Presidential candidate has been televised playing ice-hockey in a 40 minute game with former Russian hockey stars. After the game, he had tea with his teammates, and was given a hockey jersey by former player and Russian Ice Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretiak.
Putin said he was trying to “attract more attention to hockey as a game” ahead of the Winter Olympic Games that will be held in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
RIA Novosti / Aleksey Nikolsky