Valery Stennikov: "We are the best among the regions, but I really wish we would do better"

The Russian Sambo Championship ended in Orenburg. Athletes from Sverdlovsk region won eleven medals of different merit.

Sambo wrestlers from Sverdlovsk region are traditionally one of the main medal contenders of the Russian National Championship. However, the last two years the regional team performed not as good as we would like to. Russian sambo has its own eligibility criteria: winners of the Russian Championship go to defend the honor of the country at the World Championship, while silver medalists go to the European Championship. For the last two years, athletes from Sverdlovsk region were not qualified for the World Championship as they failed to win the Russian Championship. Head coach of Sverdlovsk region, Valery Stennikov, attributed it to a transition period, a change of generations.

That year the Sverdlovsk region wrestlers managed to regain the status of one of the strongest sambo schools in our country. The team won 11 medals: 2 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze.

It is worth noting that the Russian Championship in Orenburg was held in new weight categories. The number of weight classes for men decreased from 9 to 8, which means that the weight categories have changed by a few kilograms. The most interesting thing is that athletes competed in eight weight categories only at the Russian Championship. New rules stipulate that international tournaments will have only seven weight classes (it used to be also nine). At the World and European Championships there will be no lightest weight category up to 53kg, which we have at the Russian Championship. It means that the winners of the Russian Championship in this weight category will be deprived of an opportunity to participate in international competitions.

Twin brothers, Uali and Ali Kurzhevs, represented Sverdlovsk region in the weight category up to 79kg, and both managed to win medals. Uali Kurzhev got off on a good start, giving no chance to his opponents. He made it to the finals, defeated Askerby Berbekov and won gold. His brother, Ali, suffered a bitter defeat in the first round, but then through consolation bouts managed to gain five victories in a row and took bronze. One more bronze medal in this weight category was won by Denis Sukhanov from Sverdlovsk.

The Sverdlovsk athlete Olesya Posylkina won gold in the weight class up to 72kg among women, and qualified for the World Championship, which will take place in Moscow in November. Last year she won silver at the Russian Championship, while this year she achieved four victories and a gold medal.

Also, this year, athletes from Sverdlovsk region were given three silver medals. They are Ivan Panyukhin (up to 53kg), Vladimir Gladkikh (58kg) and Anna Balashova (80kg). Gladkikh and Balashova will take part in the European Championship in Limassol (Cyprus) in May. Panyukhin is less fortunate as international competitions will not have his weight category.

Sambo wrestlers from Sverdlovsk region (other than those already mentioned) also won four more bronze medals. Danir Shamsutdinov, Danil Ponomarenko, Artur Khaptsev and Lyudmila Nalyotova took bronze in the weight category up to 53kg, 64kg, over 98kg, up to 72 kg, correspondingly.

INTERVIEW

Head coach of the Sverdlovsk region team Valery STENNIKOV compared notes on the last tournament with "Oblastnaya Gazeta" (Regional newspaper).

How would you evaluate the performance of the Sverdlovsk athletes? Eleven medals compared to last year is a big leap...

“They could have done better. You see, it is not about medals, it is about berths for the World and European Championships. Bronze medals of the Russian Championship are certainly a good thing, but it would be great to have more berths for international tournaments though. Anyway, as regards the overall standing among the regions, we took the first place among both men and women at this championship”.

This Russian Championship was held in new weight categories. What did you feel about those changes? Did it cause any troubles with weight management for athletes, for instance?

“Well, a lot of interesting things happened due to those changes in weight categories. Some had to lose weight, some to gain it. There were a lot of surprises. For example, a candidate master of sports from Chelyabinsk Alexander Kulikovskikh won in the weight category up to 64kg among men, no one expected to see him in that category. Competitors in the tournament were very strong. Our three athletes competed in the quarterfinals in this weight class. If won, at least one person would be in the finals. But all three of them lost, so only Danila Ponomarenko took bronze”.

There were eight weight categories at the Russian Championship, whereas there will be seven in international competitions. The lightest category (up to 53kg), in which the Sverdlovsk athlete Ivan Panyukhin was supposed to take part, will be excluded at the European Championship...

“Yes, Panyukhin is left without any international competitions this year. The Russian Championship keeps the weight category up to 53kg for young athletes so that they could compete at it after junior and youth championships and then move on to heavier weight categories”.

Vladimir Gladkikh lost the final to Sayan Khertek again (for the fifth time). What went wrong this time?

“It was only a 0-1 loss. The lack of athletic chutzpah is the point. He competed without demonstrating leadership skills – here is what we have in the end. Once you made it to the final, why be cautious? Anyway, he will get a berth for the European Championship or the World Championship”.

The most decorated member of the regional team, Alsim Chernoskulov, took only fifth place this year. Does it mean that the competition has increased?

“No, it is purely due to injury. He had a groin strain and a bruise all over his leg. He was injured 15 days before the tournament and it would have been better if he had not compete. This kind of injuries takes a long time to recover from, unfortunately”.

How does he feel now? Is he going to finish his career?

“No, he is going to continue wrestling as soon as the injury heals”.