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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
An inclusive IRON WARRIORS PETANQUE ARENA for veterans will be installed at VDNH in Kyiv. Rinat Akhmetov allocated 8,6 million UAH for the project under the "Miracles" program, and the team of veteran and project initiator Vadym Svyrydenko received a special vehicle for travel to trainings and competitions. This was reported by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation website.
23 September, Svyrydenko and his team gathered at the site of the future arena. The veterans played petanque, and during the event they presented the project for the space and handed the vehicle to the team from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
Svyrydenko went to defend Ukraine in 2014. After being wounded he lost all four limbs and underwent a long rehabilitation process. One of the directions of his return to an active life became sports. Later he began to develop veterans' petanque and formed a team.
According to the initiator's plan, the arena should be accessible to veterans with various injuries and physical abilities. Trainings, meetings, and competitions are planned to be held here.
"Our idea is to create a veterans' petanque development center based at this arena. It is an accessible sport that veterans with different injuries and physical abilities can join. We want the site to become an example of an inclusive sports space where veterans can regularly train, take part in competitions, and develop this direction in Ukraine," said Natalya Yemchenko, chair of the supervisory board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
The project envisages compliance with international standards, which will make it possible to hold international-level competitions at the site.
"For us, this arena will become a place where veterans can gather together, communicate, train, and compete. Petanque helps to decompress psychologically, to take one’s mind off injuries, and to feel the support of comrades. I thank Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov and the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation for supporting our initiative, for not forgetting about veterans, and for creating opportunities for our rehabilitation and active life," said Vadym Svyrydenko.
The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation coordinates the implementation of the project and interaction with partners. During the arena’s design, the proposals of the veterans who plan to train there are also taken into account.
"When Vadym Svyrydenko approached us, Rinat Akhmetov personally decided to support his initiative. After all, this is an opportunity for veterans to recover through sport, to meet, to unite, and to create communities. The vehicle will help the team get to trainings and competitions together, and the inclusive arena will become a permanent space for veterans from different cities of Ukraine to train," said the Foundation’s CEO Ksenia Sukhova.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Фонд Ріната Ахметова долучився до створення інклюзивної ветеранської петанк-арени". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.
