MOSCOW, January 13, Alexander Govorov. No maximum quota for the Olympic Games in Beijing could create problems for the Russian men's biathlon team, said former head coach of the Russian national team Anatoly Khovantsev. Following the results of the sprint at the World Cup stage in Ruhpolding, the Russians lost their chances to get ahead of Germany in the fight for third place in the Nations Cup. The first three teams will be able to enter six athletes for the Olympics. «Of course, it's a shame that the quota for the Olympics could not be improved. Coaches have fewer options for replacing, forming a team. There may also be problems with the relay, we live in a coronavirus time, God forbid someone will pass a positive test,” said Khovantsev. The best of the Russians in the sprint was Maxim Tsvetkov, who took 21st place. “Today they didn’t cope with the shooting. That’s why Loginov grabbed two misses? Serokhvostov, as I understand it, after the mountains is experiencing a decline in form. Under the conditions that were today, it was necessary to shoot better. Our proven shooters Babikov and Tsvetkov could do better. Move in general, it was not bad, but the work at the turn failed,» he added. The ex-coach of the Russian national team also appreciated the performance of Tero Seppälä from Finland, who took fifth place in the sprint. Khovantsev is the personal trainer of the athlete. «I am pleased with the result of my ward Tero Seppälä. This is a repetition of his best achievement in his career. He coped with shooting today, but there are questions about skiing. I have not talked to him about skis yet, but it seemed that they did not work in the best way «, Khovantsev said.
