How is your preparation for Zloty Tur? Does everything go as planned?

– Well, I have no serious injuries at this time which gives me a lot of confidence and motivation. I started to train immediately after coming back from world championships. My arms feel very fresh since I was not training properly since Europeans and I think it will be easy to add some serious power now.

What results do you expect?

– Two first places and 1000 dollars are going home with me this year :). But I wish the best of luck to all the opponents at trying to stop me.

You have a strong opponent – Daniel Prokopchuk from Moldova. How do you think, what is the key of successful fight with him? Who else do you consider the most difficult opponent and why?

– Yes, Daniel showed up in a very good shape during worlds and I am happy to see him getting better. He has few strong sides, but I can also see some vulnerabilities. Some additional power will be enough for me to execute my technique and I don't see him winning again. He is simply too short to be dangerous. But let me show you during Zloty Tur.

The most dangerous and uncomfortable pullers for me are Zair Ahmedov and Emil Amirshadyan due to their speed and arm length. And of course Arthur Makarov because he is a freak of nature.

What interesting do you expect in other weight classes?

– Other weight classes and the competition in general might be a bit different this year since we are having the supermatches at the same time. There is a good chance for new talent to win medals so I will be looking for that.

A few words about Vendetta pairs? Who do you think would be the most interesting pair and why?

– It is cool to see these monsters like Todd, Trubin, Chaffee or Pushkar fighting but Babayev vs Hutchings is going to be the most interesting to me. I wish Larrat versus Cyplenkov would happen some day.