Penza, 20 February 2016. PenzaNews. Grigory Kabelsky, Penza region Minister of Physical Education and Sports, has no intention to win the 15th two-day tennis tournament for veterans dedicated to Defender’s Day, which began at “Victoria” tennis center on Saturday, February 20.

© PenzaNewsBuy the photo

“I haven’t played tennis for a long time, specifically the competitions. [...] I think we are going to play for the good mood, for the chat, for the enjoyment. For us, playing is more important than winning,” he commented for PenzaNews agency.

The competition will bring positive emotions for the contestants, Grigory Kabelsky pointed out.

“Perhaps somebody will feel negative over it after losing. But I have a different principle – I put participating over all. For example, I haven’t been setting any sports goals for myself for a long time. [...] But doing that precisely for keeping my body active is good,” the head of the Sports Ministry explained.

According to Grigory Kabelsky, he will take part in three games during the tournament.

“Most importantly, it will be good physical exercise today – in reality, this is very important,” he concluded.

As PenzaNews agency reported earlier, the Penza region governor Ivan Belozertsev and the general federal inspector of the region Dmitry Kadenkov also plan to take part in the tournament.

Overall, the competition will bring together a total of 40 tennis players.