We haven't seen Andrey Pushkar in this much trouble for a long time. Many fans were devastated with your loss. How did you manage all that stress?

I had a lot of trouble controlling my stress levels, I was anxious the whole day before the fight. I tried to spare myself in the eliminations, to conserve my strength. We each knew our own limitations, so in the first rounds with Pushkar I gave up, so as not to lose strength that I needed for the finals. Andrey is a very strong guy, but I must admit I'm in pretty good shape too right now. I put a lot of focus into preparations for this tournament. I am very happy with my fight with Pushkar. It's not quite what I imagined, but I'm glad I stood up to him.

What was your mistake that decided on the final outcome?

As for my training before the tournament, I did not prepare specifically for Pushkar, but for Zloty Tur as such. I think I might have made a mistake, fighting two tournaments one after another and some shortcomings of my recent training. I must say that Andrey Pushkar had everything worked out excellently, both technique and strength.

You were very close to winning the tournament. You are an amazing champion and your fights cause large emotions. We wish you lots of successes and wins without fouls. You gave a great show to the audience, we salute you for that!

I also want to salute and thank everyone who stood by me, and of course the organizers, for creating an amazing event and inviting me to it. Thanks to this I could represent my country, Kazakhstan.

OL, IM