“The boys didn’t know until recently if they were going to the World Cup.” Interview with the wrestling team coach.
Batraz Tomaev September 19, 2023, 17:20 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Khadzhimurat Gatsalov: about the freestyle tournament, Sadulayev’s injury and Olympic licenses.
The 2023 World Championship wrestling tournament in Belgrade comes to an end. Two more medal games will be played on Tuesday night: Russian Shamil Mamedov will compete for bronze in the up to 65 kg category. But global results can now be extracted. And for the ratings, the “Championship” turned to the coach of the Russian wrestling team, Athens Olympic champion Khadzhimurat Gatsalov. The mentor spoke about Sadulaev’s injury, about Sidakov’s unique qualities and about the fate of Olympic licenses, which still do not guarantee the Russians’ performance at the Games.
– Khadzhimurat Soltanovich, the world championship of freestyle wrestlers is coming to an end, how to summarize the preliminary results? – Naturally, any coach always expects better results. Today we have two golds and one silver. The boys are fighting for a license. With 125 kg we got the permit, which we really needed. The team performed well. But the tournament still continues: in the evening at 65 kg we will fight for third place. Of course, we are waiting for Shamil Mamedov’s medal. The rival also has experience: the current world champion.
– You probably expected more from Zaur Uguev? – Yes, Zaur was in the wrong place. We always expect more from him. He spoiled us with victories. This time, his result was affected by a simple lack of international competitive practice.
Results of the first medal day of the 2023 World Cup:
America is happy, but the Russian did not raise his head at the award ceremony. Results of the 2nd day of the World Wrestling Championship
In general, the situation was not clear: are we going to the World Championship or not? The boys did not understand until the end whether they would go or not. And such uncertainty confuses a person. But the main thing is that Zaur got the license. Next, the main thing is to get licenses where we didn’t get them.
It is a pity that in the weight category up to 86 kg Arslan Bagaev was not able to show all his power. He flew to a “blotter”. I think he has a future.
– Sidakov showed his class yesterday, of course. How would you rate his fight? – Zaurbek is one of the few people you can always trust. He will go out and do everything he can. For me this is an indicator. You can show your 100% willingness.
Zaurbek has repeatedly proven that he is a professional and one of the best in the world. When he goes out on the mat, he squeezes every last drop out of it. He is a fighter with a strong character. These qualities give me some kind of guarantee and peace of mind. A lot of the guys need to take Sidakov’s example. He may not show a cascade of techniques, but he does show stability and character. This is the most important quality a fighter must have.
Sidakov is a real hero of the world struggle:
“I would be very happy.” The Russian wrestler dedicated the 2023 World Cup gold to his tragically deceased father
– What’s wrong with Sadulayev? What is his condition like? – There is no tragedy. During the tournament, his old sore, the one on his neck, got worse. He added more with the Iranian in the quarterfinals. And I couldn’t fight Tazhudinov anymore to reach the final. He knows Tazhudinov. I fought him and defeated him. And now I think he would beat him, although Tazhudinov scored a lot, he beat Snyder 10-0. But Abdulrashid has even more experience. He knows his business well, but now this injury has not given him the opportunity to fight. He couldn’t even make the passes, so he had to leave.
– There is still no Olympic license for this weight. – If there is a problem. But there will be no problems with obtaining a license. Let’s see how long it takes Abdulrashid to recover. And in this weight category there is also Alikhan Zhabrailov.
Results of the second medal day of the 2023 World Cup:
The American did not shake the Russian fighter’s hand after the final. But the main thing is that the victory is ours!
– Russian wrestlers seem to be obtaining Olympic licenses, but the IOC still does not guarantee our participation in the Olympic Games. How do you rate this?“We hope for a prudent, appropriate and objective decision.” Since we were allowed to participate in a licensed tournament, this is already an indicator. Therefore, we hope to be able to prepare unhindered for the remaining licensed tournaments.
