DOES HOMELAND GIVE ADDITIONAL STRENGTH?

Needless to say, this championship is very special for Armenia. An event like this is more than important for this small country that has just begun to come to life after a terrible crisis. This means that Armenian athletes will do their best and even more to save face before their public. We have talked to one of the coaches of the national team, Alexander Markosyan, a powerful wrestler in the past and a participant of the Deaflympics of 1981 in Cologne. We asked him about the chances of the Armenian national team for the upcoming tournament.

- Alexander, how are you feeling now, right before the Championship’s start?

- Ready to fight. A bit nervous, of course. This is the first tournament of this kind in my country. I’m happy about that but on the other hand it means additional responsibility for our athletes and coaches.

- How does the national team get ready for the championship?
- We coaches have decided to allocate responsibilities. I take care of “freestylers” and my colleague, Hamlet Hovannesyan, works with classic style wrestlers. I train two athletes: Vazgen Petrosyan and Sevada Saribekyan. We took the preparation very seriously: we had training camps and sparrings, worked on both technique and psychology. I feel that we have really done our best.

- A few words about the two wrestlers you are in charge of, please.
- Well, Sevada is an experienced athlete; he has taken part in many international contests. His mass is 66 kilos right now. I hope his experience and the support of his fans will help him to achieve outstanding results. Vazgen is very young but he is extremely talented, he already has won international competitions so we count on him too.

- Can we talk more specifically about the chances of Armenian athletes?
- I am superstitious like many coaches so I can’t answer this question. Sorry about that.

- Then I guess we’ll just wish your sportsmen luck!
- Thank you!