KRASNODAR, March 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the sport of Sambo wrestling is the country’s national sport.

Putin visited earlier in the day a newly-built Sambo wrestling sports center in the country’s southern city of Krasnodar.

Krasnodar Territory Governor Veniamin Kondratyev told the Russian president upon the opening of the sport facility: "This is all about our strength of the spirit, this is all about our character, this is of our respect to opponents. This is our [national] sports completion."

"I agree," Putin said smiling. "This is our [national] sports."

Putin visited on Thursday a newly-built Sambo wrestling sports center in the country’s southern city of Krasnodar.

The 2023 World Sambo Championships took place between November 10 and 12 in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where Russia's Sambo wrestlers won a total of 18 medals (13 gold, two silver and three bronze). The organizers of the world championship also held numerous events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of Sambo wrestling.

Sambo wrestling

Sambo wrestling originated in Russia in the 1920s, when soldiers of the then-Soviet Army developed their own hand-to-hand combat technique. The word Sambo is a Russian acronym, which stands for "self-defense without weapons."

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in 2016, speaking about Sambo wrestling and its global perspectives, that the Russia-originated wrestling sport should be included in the Olympic program, but this would require a lengthy approval process.

The 71-year-old Russian president, known for his avid support of sports development in Russia, holds a black belt in judo and still regularly practices the martial art.

In 2012, the International Judo Federation granted Putin an eighth "dan," or grade, for his work in promoting the sport. In his youth Putin was a judo champion in his home city of Leningrad, now called St. Petersburg. In 2008, he starred in a judo video titled: "Let's Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin."

In his bid to bring the FIA Formula One automobile competition, also known as Royal Racing, to Russia, Putin put the pedal to the metal in an F1 bolide on a race track outside his hometown in 2010.

In what could be termed the "fastest president in the world," he reached a speed of 240 kph (150 mph). His lap around the race track added to a long list of daring stunts, including piloting fighter jets and strategic bombers as well as riding Harley Davidson motorcycles with Russia’s Night Wolves Motorcycle Club.