President of the Russian Fencing Federation: “We have gone from a world leader to a ghost”

Down-the-line.com/Fencing. President of the Russian Fencing Federation Ilgar Mammadov on the characteristics of the selection for the 2024 Olympics.

• The Czech Republic opposed the return of Russian fencers to international tournaments

“The selection in fencing is very difficult. During the year, you have to be in good shape all the time. We have five stages of the World Cup plus three Grands Prix, plus the continental championship and the world championship. There are 10 competitions in total. In Africa, except for Egypt, there is hardly anyone. So Egypt is already in the Olympics. In the Pan-American zone too. The United States is in the Olympics. They do not need to qualify. They are already there. In Asia it is more difficult – there are Japan, China, Korea, in some forms other countries are added to it And in Europe, all the other strong fencing powers are concentrated.To break through directly, you either have to be in the top four of the world rankings, or the best team in your continent.But now, we have a rating of zero. in all types of weapons. We have gone from a world leader to a ghost. We will go from nowhere. Therefore nt, if we miss some competitions, it will be three times harder than for the other countries which participated everywhere and did not miss anything”, sk azal Mammadov “SE”.

• Zhurova on the admission of fencers: “Citizens will say that it is unacceptable to go to competitions without the flag of Russia”