Saken Polatov: "At this World Cup we focused on a combination of experience and youth”
Our national team has made serious preparations for the World Boxing Championship among men, which starts in a few days in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The joint training camp with Cuba, one of the leading teams in the world, turned out to be useful for our boxers in all respects. This can be called a practical expression of the warm relations that have developed between the boxing federations of Uzbekistan and Cuba. At the end of 2019, our team took part in a joint training camp in Havana. In response, before the World Cup, the Cubans preferred to hold a training camp in our country with the "Uzbek Tigers".
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the squad selected for the World Cup in Serbia was the best option for our team today. The Federation's management and coaching staff are working on a long-term plan in this regard. Below we bring to your attention a conversation with the deputy chairman of the NOC, First Deputy Chairman of the Boxing Federation of Uzbekistan Saken Polatov about the immediate plans of Uzbek boxing:
– How important is the World Cup in Serbia for us? What is the main focus in it?
– At the current World Cup, the main focus was on a combination of experience and youth. In front of our experienced boxers who have received international recognition, such as Hasanboy Dusmatov, Shahram Giyasov, Shahobiddin Zairov, Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov, Abdumalik Khalakov, Mujibillo Tursunov, Asadkhoja Muidinkhodjaev, Saijamshid Jafarov, Shokhzhakhon Abdullayev, Lazizbek Mullazhonov, our youth will be able to get great skill from them and perform worthily on world arenas. The purpose of this is to prepare the national team for the 2023 Men's World Championship, which will be held in Tashkent for the first time, and now to form the squad for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
– Where did the idea come from to choose a Cuban team for final preparation?
– The choice of the Cuban team for the training camp is also not accidental. At a meeting with the Olympians on August 13, the President of our country gave recommendations on studying foreign experience, including methods and methods of foreign strong schools, establishing cooperation with them. To this end, we invited the Cuban national team, which took its place in world boxing, including the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 in first place in the team competition. A strong partnership has been established with this team. If earlier we held a training camp in Cuba, then this year they visited Tashkent. For 9 days, the strongest boxers in the world, note, among them 4 Olympic champions, shared their experience with our boxers. In turn, they also learned some aspects from Uzbek boxing. I think this cooperation has been beneficial for both sides.
– What are the Federation's plans for the coming years? What programs exist to improve the image of our country in the international arena?
– We have serious strategic plans. In January next year, Tashkent will host the Asian Championship among boxers under 22 years old. All the ongoing preparations are aimed at hosting the 2023 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in our capital. Uzbekistan will host the men's Boxing World Championship for the first time. As a result of the reforms directly carried out by the head of our state in the field of sports, instructions and recommendations for holding major competitions in our country, this year the World Weightlifting Championship among adults will be held in our capital for the first time. If in 2022 the world Judo championship among adults will be held in our country for the first time, then in 2023, as we have already said, the strongest boxers of the world will gather in our capital. And in 2025, Uzbekistan will host the Asian Youth Games for the first time. I am sure that these competitions will further strengthen the image of our country in the international arena.
As for the strategic plans of the Boxing Federation itself, our goal is to strengthen Uzbekistan's leadership in world boxing, conduct a strong selection policy among the country's youth, develop consistent and effective ties with the AIBA and the Asian Boxing Confederation, increase the number of international category judges and improve the skills of coaches.
I believe that our greatest achievement is the attention paid by our state and government to physical culture and sports, the wide promotion of a healthy lifestyle in our country, the ongoing reforms to strengthen the health of the population. Using this, we should focus on more young people, educate new champions, boys and girls. Following the success of our masters of leather gloves in international arenas, the number of young people who want to box in our country is growing every day. There is a very strong competition in our team of all ages today. And this only contributes to growth, the formation of a strong team, and the improvement of results.
