Russian sambist Victoria Sergievskaya finished third on the first Online SAMBO Cup (Europe) organized by the International SAMBO Federation.
She has shared her impressions and emotions in interview given to the FIAS website.
– Victoria, tell us about your impression of online SAMBO, please.
– This unusual format quite appealed to me. It proved to be a very useful interactive activity. I believe that all athletes need to know the sports theory, and for those who represent their country at international tournaments, English is also very important in order to be able to communicate with each other.
– What difficulties did you encounter during the tournament stages?
– I felt very nervous before the start of the Cup. Besides, the fact that for me the competition took place at night affected my condition. I was worried but everything went off fairly well. This tournament taught me an important lesson: you do not always need to do everything faster. Battling it out to reach the finals, I thought that I should finish as soon possible, but it turned out to be my mistake. And although the format of the competition itself implies promptness, at that moment I really have hurried.
– On the mat, motivation means a medal, a champion’s title, but what kind of motivation can athletes get through such a format, besides a monetary reward?
– At the Online SAMBO Cup, the leading motivation for me was the desire to learn something new. This is such an unusual experience, and, representing our country alone, I felt a very special responsibility.
