Zeyd Alasgarov on His Bronze Medal at the World Championship and Future Goals

Zeyd Alasgarov, the young Azerbaijani judoka who won a bronze medal at the World Championship held in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, answered the questions of the "Report" correspondent assigned to the tournament. He spoke about his performance in the competition and revealed his future goals.

- First of all, we would like to get your opinion about the medal you won. What feelings are you experiencing?

- I am very happy. I had defeated my first two opponents. Then I lost in the 1/4 finals. Nevertheless, I didn't give up. In the consolation match, and then in the fight for the bronze medal, I defeated the Japanese judoka.

- What was your goal when you came to the competition?

- I was in the first place in the world ranking. I came here ambitious too. I wanted to win a gold medal. But it didn't work out. It was destined to be like this. I believe that I will show even better results in the youth category.

- What was the main reason for the defeat in the 1/4 finals? By the way, that athlete later won a gold medal.

- I made some mistakes. After returning to Baku, I will work on those mistakes with our head coach Emin Iskandarov and coach Nijat Shixalizade.

- What did you talk about with the coaches before the medal match?

- The teachers gave me their instructions. The most important thing was to grab the opponent's left arm and throw him from above. I did that and won.

- To whom do you dedicate the award you won?

- First of all, I thank the Azerbaijan Judo Federation. I am grateful to the head coach of the national team, Emin Iskandarov, coach Nijat Shixalizade, and my personal coach Ilgar Mushkiyev. Their efforts on me are great. I dedicate the medal I won to my family.

- You will no longer participate in the youth category. What are your future goals?

- I can increase my weight to 66 kg in the youth category. I will pay attention to physical training. There are tough trainings ahead. I will come back stronger. I will try to become the European and world champion among young people.

- Every athlete has some dream related to his career. What is yours?

- The goal is primarily to stay in sports. I have no intention of moving away from judo. God willing, I dream of participating in the Summer Olympic Games in the future and returning to the Motherland with a gold medal.