Young hockey player Ilya Tolpykin, injured during the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, on the air of the program “There is a topic!” on he talked about his health and also admitted that he was very surprised and pleased with the meeting with Ilya Kovalchuk in the hospital.
On the evening of March 22, terrorists opened fire on the Crocus Town Hall in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow. According to the latest data, 144 people were killed as a result of this attack. Leaving the scene of the crime, the terrorists deliberately hit 8-year-old Tolpykin with a car. Spartak hockey player Ilya Kovalchuk visited the young player in the hospital and gave him a stick and a match jersey. The Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) provided financial assistance to Tolpykin.
– How do you feel?
– Alright. Tomorrow I’m leaving and coming home.
— How did you like the meeting with Kovalchuk?
“I was very surprised and happy.” He gave me a hockey stick. He also said: “Get well soon!” and “Good luck in hockey!”
— How long will the recovery process take?
– Month!
– He is very optimistic. This is the character of a true hockey player. He has been playing for the Olympic Village Academy for over a year. We’re actually planning to release next week. The doctors are very optimistic. Ira (sister) will also be released next week,” said Igor, Ilya’s father. — Ilya will undergo rehabilitation in a specialized sanatorium. In a few months, God willing, we will see him again on the ice!
— How important is support to you?
“For our family, it was a shock in a good way. My wife and I were amazed by the cohesion of the sports community. The first were hockey players. Then the football clubs and the Boxing Federation joined us. It is difficult to name a sport whose representatives would not respond to adversity.
By the way, Ira has also been doing gymnastics for many years. This is the character of true athletes, on one side or the other.
Ilya Kovalchuk was there, the guys from Dynamo, CSKA and (club general director) Alexander Valerievich Kharlamov came from Torpedo. This is of inestimable value to us. We see how Ilya and Ira’s eyes sparkle. For them, it’s better than any pill. Thank you to the entire sports community in our family!
— How did you get to the concert?
– Everything is very banal. We constantly listen to the band “Picnic”. The day before, there was a family vote. By majority vote, we decided to go to the concert. Tickets were only on the balcony. This helped us a lot. We went down from the third level to the second. When a violent fire broke out, we took advantage of the moment to run out of the building. And that’s when it hit us. These comrades in a white Renault deliberately turned the wheel. And Ilya suffered the most. And Ira and I found ourselves tangentially also attacked, ”Ilya’s father said on .
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
