Putin taunts critics of 2013 Universiade: “Go pop Viagra”

By Ko Dong-hwan

Russian President Vladimir Putin shot back at critics of the Summer Universiade Game 2013 by saying “Take Viagra.”

President Putin let slip the comment when he met with Russian medalists from the 27th Summer Universiade Game that ended on July 17.

The President, in light of critics who denounced Russia’s sweep of gold medals, said, “We ruled the event, and people began to doubt us.” He also said he would like to advice the critics to “seek help from doctors if they are unhealthy” and “take Viagra and things will get better.”

The comment alludes that those who criticize Russia’s victory at the Game are potential patients of impotence with unsatisfactory lives.

Russia almost monopolized the Games by winning 155 gold medals in overall. China, ranked the second, winning just 26 gold medals. Japan and S. Korea followed China with 24 and 17 gold medals respectively.

Russian news outlets also criticized Russia’s performance in the Game, saying they selected the nation’s top athletes who train for major international sports events like Olympic Games.

The New York Times joined the voice by alleging that 18 Russian athletes were just nominal students with only their names being racked up at school registrar office. The outlet also said that the Russian team beefed up their quality as a preparation for the coming Sochi Winter Olympic Game in February 2014.