The sambo competitions within the framework of the First European Games have shown that Russia is a leader in this sport, Artem Osipenko, who won gold in the weight category over 100 kg, said.
He admitted that he had been waiting for the final battle for five hours. "And I did it, I won the gold medal for Russia," Osipenko said.
According to the Russian wrestler, they had done everything with his coach to properly prepare for the finale to fight the representative of Azerbaijan, Vasif Safarbekov. "We talked about it with the senior coach of Russia, Dmitry Troshkin, and my personal trainer, Sergey Portnov. I think the wrestlers from Azerbaijan have worthy support," he said.
"I believe that Sambo is a Russian sport. And we, as grandparents of this sport had to do it right. And we proved to everyone that we are the leaders in this sport," Artyom Osipenko noted.
He also stressed the importance of the Baku Games for Sambo. "This is the first event of this scale. Sambo was included in the European Olympic Games for the first time. I think it's almost the final step in the Olympic family. And in the future, I think, sambo will enter the ranks of Olympic sports," the champion said.
