Karate fighters from Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol win seven medals at European Championship
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Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol
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Members of the Shotokan Transgaz Stavropol sports club performed successfully at the European Shotokan Karate-do Championship that took place on November 24–26 in Matosinhos (Portugal).
The international tournament held by the European Shotokan Karate-do Association (ESKA) on the Iberian Peninsula was attended by more than 300 athletes from 20 Western European countries. The Russian national team included four karate fighters from Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol – repeat medalists at Russian and international competitions.
In the course of the three-day tournament, the judges saw several hundred fights in two types of the program: kata (formal exercises) and kumite (fights). The results were summed up in different age categories in individual and team competitions. Three members of the Shotokan Transgaz Stavropol sports club received a total of seven prizes: three gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Evgeny Molchanov, who took top honors in the individual and team kumite among junior athletes, became the absolute champion in Portugal. Alena Novatskaya got on the podium three times. She won the bronze medal in the individual competition for juniors and helped the team win two more medals: the gold medal among juniors and the silver medal among 16–17-year-olds. Stanislav Kiryanov also stood out at the European Championship. He became third in the individual competition for juniors, first in the team competition for 18–20-year-olds and third in the team competition for 21-year-olds and above.
“The company’s athletes showed themselves with dignity in Portugal and confirmed their leadership position in European shotokan karate,” noted Alexey Zavgorodnev, Director General of Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol. “The medals of the karate fighters helped the Russian team lead the overall team standings of the tournament.”
Background
Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom. The company services the linear part of gas trunklines passing through 10 constituent entities of the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation. The company ensures gas transportation to Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and the Republic of South Ossetia.
Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol consists of 18 branches, including 10 gas pipeline operation centers.
The company’s annual gas transmission and supply volumes vary between 50 and 70 billion cubic meters, while the total length of gas pipelines exceeds 8,000 kilometers. The company operates 12 compressor stations, 19 workshops, 11 types of gas compressors with a total installed capacity of 1,035.9 MW, and over 360 gas distribution stations.
The environmental management system of Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol complies with the requirements of the ISO 14001 international standard.
The company employs around 8,000 people. It is headquartered in Stavropol.
Shotokan Karate-do has been actively developed at Gazprom Transgaz Stavropol since 1998. Members of the Shotokan Transgaz Stavropol sports club are repeat champions of the world, Europe and Russia. The club is directed by Viktor Mashchenko, Head Coach of the Russian national Shotokan Karate-do team, Honored Shotokan Karate-do Coach of Russia.
At present, the club includes 12 international-class masters of sports: Evgeny Chentsov, Alexander Gizenko, Ivan Kiryanov, Sergey Umrikhin, Mkhitar Mkhitaryan, Vladislav Ivanov, Islam Nagoev, Alexey Zaitsev, Alexander Rud, Stanislav Sobin, Sergey Mashchenko, and Kazbek Mutaliev. Twelve athletes of the club are members of the Russian national Shotokan Karate-do team.