Idman.biz
"There has always been a certain deficiency in the heavyweight category in Azerbaijani wrestling. In the lightweight categories, the level is quite high".
This was stated by Sabah Shariati, the Iranian coach of the Azerbaijani national Greco-Roman wrestling team, who participated in the U-23 European Championship held in Zrenjanin, Serbia, in an interview with AZERTAC.
The bronze medalist of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the silver medalist of the European Championship and the three-time bronze medalist spoke about the transition from his sports career to coaching, the situation with heavyweight in Azerbaijani wrestling and future goals.
We present that interview.
- How does it feel for you to finish your sports career and start working directly as a coach? Is it more difficult to be on the carpet or on the sidelines?
- It's a difficult question, but I think being a coach is more responsible and difficult. Because an athlete only thinks about himself and is responsible for his own results. But after becoming a coach, you have to think about the whole team. You have to take into account every child, every situation, and in this case the responsibility becomes even heavier. As a coach, you have to control everything from a psychological, technical and tactical point of view. When you are an athlete, you don't think about it. An athlete is like a soldier, he must do what the coach says.
- Are there any promising young people in the national team right now in the heavyweight category (130 kilograms) who can take your place?
- There has always been a certain deficiency in the heavyweight category in Azerbaijani wrestling. In the lightweight categories, the level is quite high. But we are having a little difficulty in the heavyweight categories. Due to the physical structure of Azerbaijanis, there are fewer athletes in the heavyweight category. Therefore, the level is a bit lower. But we are trying to train athletes for the heavyweight category and make changes in this area as well. Of course, it is a bit difficult right now, but we are optimistic. I hope that in the future we will be able to train stronger athletes and there will be development in this area as well. This will happen slowly.
