Judoka Aghayan believes that the disqualification rule for hitting the head on the mat during a throw needs to be improved.

Two-time Russian judo champion Armen Agayan believes that the rule regarding head contact with the mat during a throw will be finalized in the near future.

Previously, a new rule appeared in judo – when throwing to touch the head of the tatami, a red card (hansoku) is given, which automatically means the athlete’s defeat.

— The Grand Slam stage recently took place in Baku. In the weight category up to 73 kg, two Russian judokas fought for bronze – Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov and Danil Lavrentyev. Did you watch this fight?

“I only saw the last moment, fatal for Lavrentiev. I don’t know how the fight went, some say Danil led, others say the opposite. But the fight went the way it did,” Aghayan said in an interview with .

— Lavrentiev received a red card (hansoku) for diving with his head. At the Russian Championship, we saw that fights often ended the same way: people were punished for hitting their heads on the tatami during a throw. What do you think of this new rule?

“That’s how I won the final.” In such moments, we don’t feel the taste of victory. After that, you start to wonder: how can you stop? My favorite techniques used to be to touch my head to the mat. All my life I have been taught this way. And now I was struggling and thinking about how I could stop so I wouldn’t lose.

— It turns out that we have to relearn?

“A month before the competition, I learned how to do a new lift to stay on my leg without falling. I would understand if they warned me first and then immediately disqualified me. One mistake and you lose. This rule should be slightly corrected in the near future, because many strong athletes lose for no reason.

— Do you have any idea why this rule was invented in the first place?

– For the safety. But I have yet to see athletes injuring their necks while performing this or that technique,” ​​Aghayan noted.