"His already being a two-time Islamic Games winner is an incentive in terms of winning a two-time world and two-time Olympic championship."
Idman.Biz reports that this was said by Tarlan Hasanov, the personal coach of Hidayat Heydarov, Olympic, world and four-time European judo champion.
In his statement to sportnet.az, the experienced specialist assessed his trainee's chances of becoming a two-time Olympic champion as follows: "This is not given to every athlete, but Hidayat has energy. He promised the Azerbaijani people, our President, and his teachers. Therefore, it seems to me that he has it 'in the tank', he should have it."
Hasanov also explained the reason why the 28-year-old athlete could not win a medal in two competitions after the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games: "Heydarov's performance at last year's Olympics was the preparation for the four-year period. It is impossible to stay at the top after that preparation. Even the most famous athletes cannot stay at that top. Everyone has a decline after the Olympics. Hidayat is now raising himself to the required form. But he still cannot be in full form."
The coach expressed his belief that the titled athlete will be in full shape in the 3-year period remaining until the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games: "There is still up to 3 years left for preparation. Professionalism does not exist in every athlete. A person is not a car that you can force. You have to be able to go down, recover, and calm down. At the same time, psychological, physical, tactical and technical preparation must coincide."