Athletistic/Hockey. Not so long ago, the ice hockey world championships were held in Helsinki and Tampere. Unfortunately, the Russian national hockey team did not participate. The national team of our country was suspended from international competitions in connection with the conduct of a special operation of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine. The same sanctions were imposed on the Belarusian national team.

Finland were seen as the main favorites for the World Cup. In February of this year, the Finns won the gold medal of the Olympic Games. Moreover, the World Cup was home for them. However, there was a curse of Olympic champions. The last three times they have been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. In 2010 and 2014, this included the Canadian team, and in 2018, the Russian team.

The Finns had a rather successful group stage. They played in Group B in Tampere. Suomi started with a devastating loss to Norway 5:0, then beat Latvia 2:1, and after that they managed to face USA – 4:1. In the fourth game, Finland lost to Sweden with a score of 2:3 on penalties. The Finns went through the remaining three games with even more confidence. They beat Great Britain with a score of 6:0, and also beat Austria (3:0) and the Czech Republic (3:0).

Finland beat Slovakia 4-2 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the American team was beaten 4:3. In the final, the Finns had a tough game against Canada. However, in extra time they managed to win 4:3. Thus, the Finnish national team became world champions in ice hockey. For the first time since 2006, the same team won the Olympic Games and the World Championship in the same year. Also for the first time since 2013, the team won the world championship on home soil. The above achievements in 2006 and 2013 were completed by the Swedish national team.

Russian fans reacted to the results of the ice hockey world championship. Many thought that our hockey players were clearly not enough at the world championship. They left their comments on community of fans of the Russian national ice hockey team on the social network of Vkontakte.

Max Osinsky:

– None of the right people will perceive these pseudo-champions.

Eugene Asmodeus:

– Without ours, it’s not interesting to watch. If ours played, the lineup would be different.

Maxim Sterkhov:

– The Finns, as always… They threw the puck backwards.

Timo Neri:

– Why can’t you just be happy for Finns and Czechs? Those and those have been waiting for World Cup medals for a long time. Yes, we would have been on the podium, but so far it’s not fate.

Russian Sergei:

– I didn’t watch a single match, it’s not interesting without our guys. And the fact that they write that Ovechkin would solve the problem is unlikely. We have seen it more than once, the result of his part in the national team is not important to say the least.

Veronika Andronova:

– It’s hard and ridiculous to even call them champions.

Alexei Kapisov:

– Without the Russian team, the World Cup is not a championship.

Sergei Pekhtin:

– Without the Russian Federation, it was not even worth watching this World Cup.

Vladimir Vladimirov:

– Illegal suspension of our team… These results are illegal and illegitimate.

Alexander Kuptsov:

– The championship is not in its own right and so are the champions.

It should be agreed that the World Cup without the Russian team cannot be called a full World Cup. After all, many teams have admitted to having a special attitude towards our team. At the same time, it should be recognized that the absence of Russian athletes does not cause as much damage in hockey as in other sports. For example, in figure skating. Nevertheless, let’s hope for the return of the Russians to world hockey by 2024.

Yaroslav Pyatikh, Athletistic