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Well-trained crowd cheers Vladimir Putin’s hockey hokum

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hit the ice for a hockey game in which he showed off his puck-handling skills and, perhaps not-so-remarkably, scored eight goals.

In another of his periodic PR exercises intended to cast the Russian leader as a man of action in the public mind, the Kremlin strongman received a lot of help from teammates.

And the opposition was similarly helpful, often mounting an inert defence when Putin repeatedly came thundering down the rink surrounded by a protective wall of fellow players.

But it wasn’t all goals and glory, as also Putin failed to notice a red carpet laid on the ice after the game and came an embarrassing, face-first cropper.

There was a noticeable lack of laughter as Putin dusted himself off and continued soaking up the crowd’s cheers as if nothing had happened.

Putin’s blitz of goals is perhaps the most inspiring sporting performance by any national leader since the late North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il claimed to have set a world golfing record by achieving 18 holes-in-one in a row.

Vladimir Putin shows of a manly physique in an earlier macho display. Photo: AAP

A judo blackbelt, Putin has long been keen to show off his athletic prowess, including by working out with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, hitting the ski slopes in Sochi, diving to the bottom of the Black Sea or mustering wild horses in the Urals.

The machismo displays have provided grist for his critics – as Russia’s gays, who delighted in waving posters of Putin wearing lipstick and eyeliner during demonstrations against a Kremlin crackdown on homosexuality.

Not quite the good sport, Putin responded by making it a jailable offence to lampoon the national leader.

Putin’s opposition to Russia’s gay lobby spawned this poster – and a new law making it an offence to ridicule the Russian strongman. Photo: AAP

Skating alongside Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian hockey greats such as Pavel Bure and Igor Larionov, Putin helped his side to an emphatic 14-7 win in the Night Hockey League on Friday.

Putin, whose approval ratings has slipped in recent years as Russia battles economic woes, periodically plays hockey with government officials, businessmen and former National Hockey League stars in matches that are broadcast with pomp on national television.

After opening the scoring unassisted by beating the goaltender two minutes into the game, the 66-year-old added seven more goals, making him the top scorer.

-with AAP

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