Rıza Kayaalp: "The beginning of my winning streak was set in Baku" - IDMAN.BIZ FROM ALBANIA

The European Championship held in Albania, where Turkish Greco-Roman wrestler Rıza Kayaalp surpassed the legendary Alexander Karelin's record, was not easy for him.

Rıza Kayaalp himself stated this in an interview with Idman.Biz.

"There were some unexpected moments in the semi-final match. But I kept my cool and advanced to the final. There, I did what was necessary and won. I surpassed the legendary Karelin's achievement. I have reached the final 15 times and won 13 times. Achieving this is really very difficult. I am happy that I managed to do the seemingly impossible," he added.

He also talked about how he found motivation over the years and how he managed to stay at the top:

"God has given me talent and I have always developed it by working on myself and loving my job. It is very important to develop, follow a sports regime and pay attention to social life. If you follow these and believe in yourself, there is nothing you cannot achieve. If it weren't for these, I wouldn't be able to be a 13-time European champion at the age of 37."

Kayaalp added that he often faced Azerbaijani athletes in the semi-finals in recent European championships and hoped to fight them in the final this time as well, but it did not happen.

Speaking about Azerbaijan, Rıza Kayaalp said that he achieved his first success in the continental championship in Baku:

"The beginning of this winning streak was set in Baku. I became the European champion for the first time in 2010. Baku was very successful for me. Azerbaijan gave me good energy and I used it. I was very happy to win my first medal there. The atmosphere in Baku was great, the fans gave me great support."

The athlete added that he would like to come to Baku for a vacation with his family as soon as he has the opportunity:

"Baku has become very beautiful and developed in recent years, there are many historical places there. God willing, I will come there with my family in the future. I have many friends in Azerbaijan, especially I am in close contact with Azerbaijani athletes of my generation."