Head coach of the Russian freestyle wrestling team Khadzhimurat Gatsalov spoke to about training two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev after he was excluded from the qualifying tournament in Baku.
Despite Sadulayev’s exclusion from the tournament, Russian wrestlers were able to obtain two of the two Olympic licenses during the qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan. Alikhan Zhabrailov (category up to 97 kg) and Artur Nayfonov (up to 86 kg) won tickets to the 2024 Games for the Russian team. Zhabrailov, 29, replaced Sadulayev two days before the tournament.
— During this tournament, you took two Olympic licenses. What will happen next?
— We have all six licenses. They are not personal, they are for the team. The main criterion will be the Russian Championship (April 30 – May 5 in Moscow – Editor’s note), but we will still make a decision with the technical staff.
— Is Abdulrashid Sadulayev training at the moment?
“I don’t know if he trained these two days, but I know he is professional and he will prepare. Despite the fact that he did not participate in this tournament, Dzhabrailov received his license. Abdulrashid is experienced and constantly demonstrates good wrestling, but he understands that now every day counts, this is not the time to rest – the Olympic year. And I believe guys should be in peak shape.
— Posted a message from Kyle Snyder with words of support. Where and when did it arrive?
— Abdulrashid and Kyle communicate, and he [Садулаеву] It happened in messages. They are friends, they are rivals and Kyle Snyder said: “I want Russia to be in the Olympics. I want to win these Games and without Russian wrestlers this victory would not be complete. As long as Russia is not present at the Games, victory brings no satisfaction.”
— This summer, it will be 20 years since you won the Olympic Games. Did you plan to celebrate this date in any way?
– No, I didn’t plan. Maybe we’ll be in training camp for a little while, but there’s no way we’re going to put on a show and have a particular attitude about it – we don’t. If we manage to go to the Olympics, it will be the best gift, so we ask the Almighty and think that our guys deserve to go to the Olympics, ”Gatsalov told .
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
