Report.az
Ukrainian Aida Karimova, the winner of the U-23 European Championship held in Zrenyanin, Serbia, considers herself more Azerbaijani.
The athlete stated this in an interview with "Report".
She shared information about her entry into wrestling and her family's attitude towards this sport:
"I was born in Ukraine. I have been involved in wrestling since I was 8 years old. A coach came to our school and offered this sport, and I wanted to try it. My father was against me wrestling, but I insisted and continued my training. I am currently at the peak of my career. I am acquainted with Parviz Nasibov, he motivates me with his results and training, and we take an example from him".
"My father is Azerbaijani. I also consider myself more Azerbaijani than Ukrainian. I am glad that Azerbaijanis also support me, and I am very happy to hear kind words from them for being a European champion," she emphasized.
A. Karimova touched upon the offers from the Azerbaijani national team and her future plans:
"I have received several offers to transfer from the Azerbaijani national team, but for now I am staying in my own team - the Ukrainian team. I have no plans to transfer in the near future. I am very happy to have won a gold medal at the European Championship. In addition to me, Parviz Nasibov in Greco-Roman wrestling and Ruslan Abdiyev, who is currently competing here, are also in the Ukrainian team".
The athlete also spoke about her friendly relations with Azerbaijani female wrestlers:
"I have a very good relationship with the Azerbaijani national team, especially with Gunay Gurbanova. We have very sincere relationships, we always support each other in competitions and try to stay in touch".
