Russian judoist Matvey Kanikovsky told that after winning the European Championships being held in Zagreb, Croatia, he would like to win gold medals at the World Championships and the Olympics.
On Saturday, in the decisive fight in the weight category up to 100 kg, Kanikovsky defeated Georgian Ilya Sulamanidze.
— Do you think your opponents had no chance today?
— I think the opponents had a lot of chances, because the level of competition is high. Almost all athletes had performance experience at the international level. Today the draw went “pleasantly” for me, because there were some strong guys. In the first fight, I met the judo legend, my childhood idol, Aslei Gonzalez. It’s an honor to fight him. So everyone had a chance.
— Can we say that this year is going well for you, because you have already won medals?
— A successful coincidence of circumstances occurs when everyone wins gold medals. I consider silver and bronze to be defeats. Today everything went well. Yes, I am in good shape, but in some fights I could not finish the match earlier than expected. It’s a bit overwhelming.
— Would you like to win not only the European Championships this year, but also the World Championships and the Olympic Games?
– Yes, of course, I would like to. But everything will depend on the technical staff: where they put me, that’s where I will prepare. The World Championship is coming very soon, so there will be little rest. Let’s see what the coaches say,” Kanikovsky told .
Ranking points earned by athletes during the tournament count toward Olympic qualification. Kanikovsky scored 4800 points, qualifying him for the Paris Games.
Watch the European Judo Championship on the Match holding channels. You can also follow the progress of the matches on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
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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.
