Brazil brings 112 athletes to BRICS Games in Kazan, Russia

Between June 11 and 23, the city of Kazan, Russia, will host the 7th edition of the BRICS Games 2024, a multisport competition organized annually by the bloc country members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and the recently incorporated Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).

112 Brazilian athletes will compete in 15 modalities. They were sent to the games in a partnership between the Brazilian Sports Ministry and the Brazilian Confederation of University Sports (Confederação Brasileira do Desporto Universitário - CBDU). This year’s edition is considered a mega-event due to the participation of approximately 60 invited nations in addition to the BRICS members.

In total, the games include 27 categories: Boxing, break dance, beach volleyball, beach handball, kayaking and canoeing, rowing, judo, karate, kurash, athletics (track & field), table tennis, swimming, diving, sambo, synchronized swimming, skateboarding, wrestling, artistic gymnastics, tennis, wushu, “phygital” basketball, “phygital” soccer, rhythmic gymnastics, chess, weightlifting, and badminton.

“Our team is arriving in Kazan full prepared to achieve important victories, reasserting Brazil's position among the great sports powers of the world. Our athletes will wear the colors of our flag as a sign of harmony, proudly displaying an unmistakable symbol of peace among nations,” said Brazilian Minister of Sports, André Fufuca. In 2025, Brazil will take on the BRICS Presidency, which traditionally includes the responsibility of organizing and hosting the competition.

DIFFERENCES - Some of the competitions in Kazan are relatively uncommon in Brazil, but public interest in them has been growing steadily, with new enthusiasts emerging every day. Badminton, phygital games, sambo, wrestling, and wushu are among the modalities in which Brazilian athletes will compete.

Considered the fastest of racket sports, badminton involves hitting a shuttlecock to land in the opponent's area. It can be played in doubles or singles, on courts divided by a net similar to a tennis net. The shuttlecock can reach speeds of nearly 300 km/h. This Olympic sport is played in a best-of-three format. The winner is the first player or team to win two games, each consisting of 21 points.

Phygital games are a new competitive category that mixes real-life and virtual sports activities. The games begin on a videogame set and end in a real, traditional match. Team members are the same in both settings, acting in a hybrid format as virtual and real-life players. There are over ten modalities of phygital sports.

Sambo is a modern martial art that originated in Russia and uses combat sports techniques. There are two variations: sportive sambo, focused on competitions and fights, and combat sambo, used for personal defense and military activities. The fight is a mix of traditional combat sports, particularly judo and wrestling styles practiced in Russia and countries from the former Soviet Union. The rules are similar to those of competitive judo.

Wrestling, an Olympic sport, utilizes techniques such as grappling, throws, takedowns, locks, pins, and other maneuvers, and is contested between two competitors. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems. Besides athletics, it is the oldest known sport, having been practiced competitively throughout the centuries to the present day.

Wushu is a Chinese martial art, similar to kung fu. It consists mainly of attack and defense movements expressed through routines (taolu) and combat (sanda) aimed at both physical and spiritual enhancement.