Three-time European Judo Champion of Azerbaijan Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) interviewed by Idman.biz
- There are only 5 days left until the end of 2023. In a year that will be remembered by history, you were among the first "four" in terms of the number of awards won in the "Grand Slam". Are you waiting for this?
- The Grand Slam tournaments are an important competition and the Summer Olympics give big points. This is also important in terms of rating. Also, it is an important competition in terms of learning the level of training. Of course, I am happy to be in the first "four". But my main goal is to climb to the top - the highest place in the Olympics.
- You won 2 gold and 1 bronze medals in these competitions. Did you expect such a successful performance?
- Of course. I expected to be the champion. Because I had been training with all my strength without stopping. I had prepared very strongly. As a result, success happened to me.
- If you distinguish, what was the most memorable race of the year for you?
- An unforgettable competition was the Grand Slam tournament held in Tokyo in December. Fighting against a local athlete in the finals in the homeland of judo and winning was the most memorable event for me.
- Although the year didn't start well for you, you said your word in the end. How would you rate 2023 for yourself?
- Indeed, the year started unsuccessfully for me. But in the last 4 months I got successful results. Of course, there are reasons for each of the failures, as well as the victories. The reason why the year went well was working together with our Olympic champion Elnur Mammadli. He trained with me, shared what he knew and taught me. Of course, this also caused me to leave the lane of failure.
- What are your expectations for the new year?
- The Olympic year is coming. All the goals and training camps held will be for one reason only: The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. I will also do everything to get a gold medal at the Olympics. I believe that by preparing at a high level, I will fly our flag high.
Banuchichek Huseynli
Idman.biz
