The first international edition of the Polish Cup wasn't impressive when it came to the turnup of athletes from abroad but it was, nevertheless, a start. The date was alright, the place too. I'm sure we'll see much more representatives from different countries next year.

Let's see the results of the Cup in cat. 63 kg:

SENIOR MEN RIGHT and LEFT 63 KG – first place.

Earlier, in Rumia, at the European Championships in juniors cat. 63 kg – silver in both left and right.

PeSzy: Let me ask you first, then – how did you even end up in armwrestling?

Elkhan Sheidaiev: I first found armwrestling interesting after I saw my good friend and ex-classmate fight in the World Championships on YouTube. It really motivated me, and I decided to find out if there are any arm clubs in my suburbs of Kharkiv. There was a club nearby, it was called ZEUS and that's where my first trainer, Valentin Bykov, taught me. He had 15 years of experience, taught me basic technique and told me in general what armwrestling is about. I worked three full months with him and after that I left to Poland. When I arrived in Katowice, I started looking for armwrestling clubs.

My friend told me that there's a table in a hall in Katowice so we went there, we fought and then Mariusz Grochowski came to see who we were. He suggested we went to the Polish Championships to see how it was.

We were shocked!

It became another motivation for me: after the championships, he invited us to train with Tytan Jaworzno. It's important, we really liked the hall after coming, and the boys accepted us into their team.

In May 2022, they told me I could try myself at the European Championships, I accepted, went and took the 2^nd place. I've realized that you have to fight for the best, always. One more motivation, I improved my condition, prepared for the upcoming Polish Cup – and won.

I want to thank the Federation separately for allowing me to take part in an international tournament like this.

PeSzy: You don't have to thank the federation, they planned the event, held it and that's all. Tell us, who is your inspiration in armwrestling?

Elkhan Sheidaiev: For me it's the Ukrainian armwrestler Oleksandr Telyatnyk, he's the WAF World Vice-Champion and my good friend, we studied in the same school and my goal is to beat him quickly. (Nothing personal.)

PeSzy: What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Elkhan Sheidaiev: My greatest strengths are my right hook and left toproll.

PeSzy: What about your goals?

Elkhan Sheidaiev: Gaining some weight, I'm currently at 63 and I want to reach 70 kg, so my strength will increase about 30-40%. I also want to work on my sides and lateral ligament so there's a lot to work on.

PeSzy: Thank you for the conversation!

Elkhan Sheidaiev: All the best to my supporters and rivals!

And, as usually, I will pass the mic to the trainer. Mariusz Grochowski TYTAN Jaworzno:

“At first, we needed a translator! Luckily, there was one, and now we understand each other perfectly. Elkhan is very determined, ambitious and has broad perspectives. I hope he has enough endurance to push through. His great strength is dynamics. He's an “additional arm” for the club in the team rivalry. Many other armwrestlers from Ukraine follow Elkhan to our club so we gain a lot from it. I hope it never stops!