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Moment of the Year by Sultan Shokbytov

A child can deceive when he cries, but he cannot succeed in deceiving when he laughs. An adult can deceive, when he laughs, but can also deceive when he cries. This is the law of nature.

But in the modern world all moves to that adult start to deceive even when they cry. Certainly, this is art, not all the adults, especially men can cry, a special talent is needed for that.

The victory of our fellow countryman, Ilya Ilyin at the 2011 IWF World Championships Paris, France, supported these thoughts. Standing on the platform with a gold medal on his chest, cried, listening to the hymn of Kazakhstan.

Ilya’s life seemed to go right in every respect after the Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing. However, it is impossible to say this about the last years. It appears, everything, even champions are trapped by various unexpected situations. Your talent can sometimes become not an advantage but a disadvantage. There are a lot of untalented people but there are not many talented ones. And these untalented people finally start to envy the talented ones and become their “enemies”. These “enemies” by various manipulations (by spreading gossips in the mass-media) have achieved that Ilya started to have disagreements with the coaches of the national team of Kazakhstan and with the Sport Committee of the Ministry of Sports. But it is clear that Ilya was born under a lucky star because Nursultan Nazarbaev himself, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan interfered saying to sports officials: «Why all of us were proud and praised Ilya during his victory in Beijing and when he has a problem do you turn away from him? »

Probably, all these moments have come back to Ilya again while he was standing on the platform with the gold medal on his chest listening to the hymn of Kazakhstan, let his feelings and cried, without being embarrassed. These were real tears because in front of the TV cameras it is impossible to deceive anybody, and this is why many Kazakhs cried together with him. Certainly, our Ilya is a real man! Before the World Championships he made a promise in broken Kazakh language to win the World Championships in any case, and he won! Only real men keep their word.

Ilya is a real patriot. Any proofs? When he had difficulties with the coaches and officials, Belarus experts came to him promising him super conditions, but Ilya refused it without hesitating even for a moment.

While “ill-wishers” spread rumors about him, while at the same time he constructed sport fields for children in his native city Kyzylorda at his own cost.

At the World Championships in Paris, on his outfit he had a big logo of the 20th Anniversary of the Independence of Kazakhstan which was the most important event of 2011 for Kazakh people.

Though Ilya is not Kazakh by nationality, lives in the heart of each Kazakh, and he is a vivid example of how it is necessary to love your country and the people.

Dear Ilya! All Kazakhs wish you a lot of success in London!!!

Sultan Shokbytov

Secretary General of the Kazakhstan Association of Sports Journalists