“There was a fear that because of a mistake we would be left without a medal” – figure skater Knyazhuk about skating with Khabibullina

Interpreter associated with Natalia Khabibullina Ilya Kniajouk after finishing second at the Russian Grand Prix in Moscow, he said he feared he would end up without a medal because of a mistake on vault.

On Sunday, Khabibullina and Knyazhuk finished second with 220.32 points. The first place was won by Alexandra Boykova/Dmitry Kozlovsky (235.78), the third by Yulia Artemyeva/Alexey Bryukhanov (212.58).

— Ilya Knyazhuk (IR): I failed a bit, it was very disappointing. I was very upset after a mistake on the Lutz. I was completely confused, I didn’t even want to go further in my thoughts. We had to go, but it was very difficult. This happens very rarely. I always do this during training.

— What is the reason for the error?

-IR: With absolutely nothing. It just happened like that.

— How satisfied are you with how the season went? How will you prepare for the Russian Championship?

— Natalia Khabibullina (NH): We will try to skate even better at the Russian Championships and not make any mistakes. We will try to do everything as good and clean as possible.

— What exactly needs to be improved?

— NH: All the elements. In the free program we make do with about half of the items. Half could have been done better. Ilya really came together after his triple Lutz failure. I didn’t know what he hadn’t done. He completed all the remaining elements to the fullest.

-IR: Imagine when Natasha doesn’t know that I made a double instead of a triple… At the same time, I understand that she doesn’t know. It was so hard for me. Unreal!

— Were you afraid that because of a mistake you would find yourself without a medal?

-IR: I had. I was very worried before the results were announced.

— NH: And I wasn’t very worried.

-IR: I was afraid of letting Natasha down.

— NH: He completed all other items 100%, although it is very difficult to pull himself together after a breakdown. I was sure we would stay in the top three.

— What are your plans for the future?

— NH: We do not know yet. Maybe we will play somewhere in Moscow before the Russian Championship, ”reports the correspondent of , reporting the words of the skaters.