Irina Zaretska: "I haven't announced my retirement yet"

Interview
19 September 2024 15:09
129
Irina Zaretska: "I haven't announced my retirement yet"

Three-time karate World Champion Irina Zaretska talked about how her life changed after the birth of her daughter, as well as her future career.

Idman.biz reports that the leader of the Azerbaijani karate national team for a long time, the silver medalist of the Tokyo Olympics, the winner of the European Games answered the questions of the Karate.project portal.

- How has your life changed since the birth of your child? Has becoming a parent influenced your approach to training or competition?

- After the comfortable period of pregnancy, everyday life has started. These are pleasant worries full of emotions. Yes, things are not easy, but I am not so easy to break either. What is new is the habit of staying cheerful and feeling very cheerful.

- Did you personally really want to have a son or daughter?

- For some reason, I always imagined myself as the mother of a boy, probably because everyone around me had boys. But when I found out I was having a girl, I shifted my focus and embraced it. One thing I can say for sure: Mia is exactly how I imagined her, and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet daughter.

- Do you miss the training process? Does Mia give you time to relax?

- I will not make loud statements, but I have already started the first training after the maternity break. Mia has the best grandparents who want to spend time with her 24/7, so finding time to go to the gym is no problem.

- What are your plans for karate? Athlete, coach? Do you stay in sports?

- I have not yet announced that I have finished my career, maybe now, after the birth of the child, a new breath will open. Or maybe not. We'll see (laughs).

- Does Ukrainian Irina Zaretska miss her homeland?

- I would answer the last question more in this way: I still remain Ukrainian, but not in big sports. I can only say that the Ukrainian women's team, consisting of Anzhelika Terliuga, Anita Serogina and Irina Zaretska, who are number one in the world ranking, could have been world leaders for at least ten years.

Idman.biz