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Almost two months have passed since the most long-awaited Olympic Games in Tokyo entered the history of mankind. It is worth noting that this tournament was not easy not only for athletes and coaches, but also for the organizers. The Olympic Games were more challenging than ever. The pandemic situation has radically changed the preparation of athletes for the Olympics. Covid, the vaccination process, changes in the regime and daily routine during preparation-all this could not but have a negative impact on the result that athletes celebrate at the Olympics. On the same topic, we interviewed the silver medalist of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the chief referee-director of the International Judo Federation (IJF), Deputy chairman of the Judo Federation of Uzbekistan Armen Bagdasarov.

- Armen Yurievich, what is your general opinion about the Tokyo Olympics, which has become the most long-awaited in history and bypassed the usual traditions?

- It is obvious that the Olympic Games in Tokyo were held in an unusual format. Coronavirus infection forced itself to do so. Bans and restrictions, such as passing daily control, mandatory PCR test, constant wearing of a mask, not going outside the designated area for a single step, did not remain without influence on the results shown by athletes at the Olympics. Now, if we talk directly about judo, the fact that the hosts have prepared very well for the competition, despite the pandemic situation, has been proven in practice. 9 gold medals won by the Japanese will, in my opinion, be proof, and this is an absolute record for representatives of the judo homeland. On the contrary, judoists from Russia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, recognized as the main contenders for medals in the pre-Olympic season, did not show the expected result. The pandemic has affected the judokas of the state, which I have listed. Our team has always claimed medals in men's competitions. Considering that Japan received 6 gold medals out of 7 existing weight categories, it is not difficult to understand how much the fight for prizes between the other 100 countries cost.

– It's no secret that athletes have been preparing for the Olympics for 4 years. This time the term was 5 years. Do you think this situation has also significantly affected the preparation?

- Yes, the consequences of this can be seen in different ways. The fact that the Olympics were postponed for a year has its positive side. If the Olympiad had been held a year ago, that is, on a pre-determined date, the Uzbek national team could have competed with 5 judokas. From this point of view, the postponement of the Olympics for a year has become a positive event for Uzbekistan. In addition to our 10 judoists in singles, we also won a team license for the first time in history. For example, Sharofiddin Lutfullayev was in excellent athletic shape last year. If the Olympics had been held in 2020, the result of our judoka over 30 years old would have been a little better. The same can be said about the legendary Teddy Riner. The number one contender for the title of Olympic champion eventually settled for a bronze medal.

– Most of the world champions, in particular Olympic champions such as Fabio Basile, failed to climb the podium. Why do you think this happened?

- The Olympic Games are a competition in which every athlete dreams of participating since childhood. I cannot describe in words the excitement of such a large-scale competition from all sides. The sense of responsibility to his people, the government, family and friends will be very high, and this will put additional pressure on the athlete. Let's not go into details, Spaniard Nikoloz Sherazadishvili defeated our compatriot Davlat Bobonov in the final of the World Championship, which took place a month before the Olympics. And at the Olympics, Bobonov took revenge for the defeat at the World Cup and ensured that the eminent opponent returned home with dry hands. The Olympics is a competition that cannot be predicted.

– How do you feel about the unsuccessful performance of the Russian national team, which won gold medals at the last two Olympics, on the Tokyo tatami? The Russians were content with 3 bronze medals, despite the fact that they were a strong team…

– My personal opinion is that, first of all, the absence of Gamba (Ezio Gamba is the head coach of the Russian national team) put pressure on the Russians. Gamba was not directly involved in training. I was content with remote consulting. A serious illness did not even allow him to train with the national team. Due to restrictions on coronavirus infection, he did not take part in any training camp of the national team. Moreover, the junior world champion in the weight of -60 kg Yago Abuladze was not sent to Tokyo. Mshvidobadze was trusted to replace him. I think Iago would have shown a better result. It is clear that after the head coach could not come to the training, the judoists did not even know about their current situation. Even the conclusion was not good, because so many coaches expressed their opinion on the final composition. Opinions sounded different. But the biggest factor of failure is undoubtedly the absence of the Gambia.

– How do you assess the preparation of the Uzbek national team?

- Of course, I expected the best performance from all the members of our national team. The -60 kg weight category completely surprised me. He showed almost no struggle. Sharofiddin was not ready for the Olympics. Our judoka in the weight category -66 kg performed well. In the extra half, he spent another seven minutes on the tatami. Unfortunately, the doctor could not stop the blood flowing from the captain's head in time. We can say that this is a doctor's mistake. As a result, Nurillaev was discharged with a medical and technical defeat. In addition, his Moldovan opponent, a multiple European champion, winner of the World Championships, was also much stronger. In the weight category -73 kg, our judoka also fought. The result may also be better. But it turned out that he was not ready either mentally or physically for the Olympics. Athletes should come to the competition feeling like the current Olympic champions. He should be in the same mood as the champion who came to pick up his medal. If you have the slightest doubt that you cannot swallow, it is better not to go out on the tatami. The biggest disadvantage of our judoists is that they are not confident in themselves. If Bobonov had even stronger self-confidence, he would have climbed even higher on the podium. Sharofiddin Boltaboev also offended me. Based on the physical condition, endurance, technical training in it, I expected at least a bronze. But for some reason I got tired very quickly. The "golden score" proves my point. For a judoka weighing -100 kg, the draw failed. Mohammadkarim defeated a strong Irish opponent in his first match. And then the future Olympic champion, the Japanese Wolf, also missed the chance.

– Do you think 11 judo licenses are a good result for Uzbekistan?

- Yes, this is a great result. A record has been set in the history of Uzbek judo. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, we won 8 licenses (7 for men, 1 for women). Usually we had 7, as well as 6 licenses at some Olympic Games. In addition, for the first time, the participation of three of our judoka in the Olympiad was noted. We have always performed in women's judo. There were no more than two licenses. This time the unpleasant tradition was broken. We also took part in a team tournament for the first time in history. The defeat by the Netherlands was a painful defeat at the end. When the leader of our team Davlet Babanov won his competition, he had a good opportunity to compete for medals. For an additional argument, the lot chose Altybayev. And he lost to his opponent. Then the Netherlands lost to Germany, which was relatively weak in the fight for the bronze medal. In the team tournament of the World Championship, the high potential of our team was demonstrated, which won a bronze medal for the first time in the history of Uzbek judo. I think that the head of the Federation and her assistants need a little more time. The current Chairman has done a lot of work in two years. After that, he spent a year solving internal problems so that everything went right. Another year was lost due to the pandemic. In my opinion, the coaching staff needs to be strengthened even more. It is necessary to add to the coaching staff of the national team specialists who know how to train judoists mentally and physically. There are no financial problems in the federation.

– The last question, what should I pay attention to so that the result at the Olympics in Paris is better than ever?

– I think we need to gradually increase the pace of preparation. As I have already said, you need to go to competitions as a champion. Our roster at the Tokyo Olympics is young, and 80-90% of them will probably go to Paris too. Next year at the World Championships in Tashkent, 50% of our judoists will take prizes. The World Championship is a competition that gives every judoka additional confidence and motivation. After winning it, your thinking will also completely change. Holding the next World Cup in Tashkent is a great achievement for Uzbekistan.