"It's a really great feeling. I don't know how to explain my victory, but I can't stop laughing."
Idman.biz reports that European champion Eljan Hajiyev (90 kg) said this after his victory in Zagreb.
The Azerbaijani judoka said he believed that he would qualify for the finals in advance: "I wanted to systematically pass the stages, defeat the opponents and successfully pass the preliminary battles. It was not easy, but I have always dreamed of the European Championship."
Commenting on his fights, the athlete said that his most difficult fight was with Croatian Josip Bulic at the start: "This usually happens, because the body enters the competitive rhythm. Therefore, the first meeting is an adaptation process, but after first match, I started to show my capacity"
He also revealed the secret of his victory over the Georgian Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri: "I fought him in the final of the Grand Slam held in Tbilisi and lost there. At that time, I had a bruised toe and wanted a rematch. It came true and I won against him thanks to confident tactics."
He said that moving to 90 kg was the right step: "I should have lost a lot of weight. When I competed in the 81 kg weight class, even on my best day I could use about 70 percent of my strength. İf you have big dreams and a strong team, anything is possible, including changing the weight and becoming the European champion. My dream is to win all three titles. I am still young and now I can use all my strength in the weight class up to 90 kg. I think this weight is the best for me."
Idman.biz
