In June of this year, she turned 30. It is time to think about the family, the completion of a sports career. But Belyakova Evgenia, one of the top 10 most beautiful basketball players of the Premier League (2012-2013), the captain of the Russian national team, began a new round of her biography, having met another season in the overseas Los Angeles Sparks. She became the ninth Russian woman invited to the strongest world women's basketball league.
How it all began
Eugenia's parents were simple workers. Galina is from Voronezh, Alexander is from Ryazan. But they met and got married in St. Petersburg, where the couple had two daughters. Eugene, born in 1986, was the eldest. She studied music (accordion class), studied well at school No. 86, graduating with a medal. At the same time, she visited the sports section, where the coach selected her at an early age. She was a tall girl already in the first grade, taking a place on the last desk (today her height is 183 cm). The section was not far. And it was convenient for the mother raising the younger Anya to take her daughter away, leaving her for two hours in the care of the coach.
There, a young athlete noticed a St. Petersburg coach Kira Trzheskal, inviting him to her team. It was necessary to ride to the other end of the city. But my father was just transferred there for work, so there were no problems. Soon, Evgenia Belyakova, for whom basketball has become a priority activity since the age of ten, entered the national team. In its composition, she will become the European champion in juniors (2004th) and youth (2006th).
student life
Today it’s hard to imagine, but once the great Kira Trzeskal, who took the girl to her team, herself advised her to choose her studies. This happened when Belyakova Eugene was preparing to enter the university. Having become a student of the Faculty of Engineering and Economics, she will leave professional sports for a while , speaking only for the student team. For three years, the girls won all the competitions in which they took part. Eugene was the real leader of the team, practicing throwing from above. This was possible because the rings for students were set lower than in ordinary basketball.
Prior to concluding the first contract with the Baltic Star team, the girl did not drop out of her sports life, continuing to work with professionals, where she had many friends. Running to the court, she attracted the attention of the coach, who saw in her the talent of a basketball player.
Professional career
Evgenia will spend two seasons at Belyakov Spartak St. Petersburg. But after the team closes due to financial troubles in 2011, it will have to change its geography. Over the years of his sports career, he will be able to play in the Moscow region and Kursk, triumphantly ending the season in Yekaterinburg as part of the UMMC, which in 2015 became not only the winner of the national championship, but also the owner of the Euro Cup. If in Kursk the girl was a clear leader, then in Yekaterinburg she managed to become a real team player, focused on the result.
Before winning the Russian championship, Eugenia already had to be a bronze and double silver medalist, becoming part of the main team of the country. Here revealed her playing talent, which includes the following advantages:
- Desire and ability to play defense.
- Focus on the ring with high three-point shots.
- Athleticism that can cope with huge physical exertion.
Russian team
The last three years, the main team of the country is going through hard times. Generational change is difficult, which led to the non-participation of the team in the Olympic Games in Rio. It was during this difficult period that Eugenia Belyakova became her captain, having experienced the triumph of 2011 in Poland. Then the Russian team led by Boris Sokolovsky became the European champion, having won 17 points in the final against the Turkish women. On her birthday on June 27, the girl had to play against the English women for leaving the group. Their advantage amounted to only 3 points.
Eugenia's choice of team captain is by no means accidental. Responsible and purposeful, she has a keen sense of justice. While still playing for Spartak, she somehow stopped the training match, during which one of the players made an obscene statement to the coach. The game was continued only after she formally apologized. Until 2016, after the return of Abrosimova, only Evgeny Belyakova received an invitation to the WNBA from the whole team.
Basketball: biography of the athlete continues across the ocean
The overseas league season, which includes 12 clubs, lasts 6 months (May-October), which coincides with the performances of the national team. This has always stopped Eugene from accepting offers from WNBA clubs. In 2016, she decided for many reasons:
- Sparks was not the first to offer, retaining the right of the national team player to participate in games for the country.
- The club is headed by Brian Egler, a great coach who led the team of Svetlana Abrosimova to the championship title in 2012. By the way, Svetlana was the last Russian woman playing overseas.
- The team won the main title twice during 19 seasons, reaching the playoffs 15 times.
- The club lacks a sniper who successfully scores from a long distance.
Belyakova Evgenia Alexandrovna, a master of sports of international class, loves her work. She is ready for workouts at the WNBA, where workouts last 5-6 hours. The woman hopes to take a new barrier in her sports career, which will help domestic basketball in the future. She perfectly entered the new team from the first matches. However, a fracture of a finger on his hand has not yet allowed to show a good level of play.