Gymnast Ilya Grishunin, who won silver medal at today's World Cup, was able to radically change his life for the better after moving to Azerbaijan, he said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.
"Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation gave me a second life. Without AGF and its leadership, I don't even know where I would be right now, to be honest. The conditions for training and for recovery are perfect here. I live in Baku with my family since 2014, and I really like to live here," he said.
According to Ilya Grishunin, he expected to show great performance during synchronized competition with Oleg Piunov, but he managed to take the medal in individual program, despite very strong competition. "In the end we were fourth in synchronized program. I was really pissed off and it gave me the strength to perform better in the individual finals. It's a great start to the season," he stressed.
Another important factor for strong performance in international tournaments is a thorough training, not only physical, but also psychological. "In order to be concentrated, you have to begin psychological training even before competition. We properly prepared for these competitions, we were at the peak of physical and mental shape, and we will do the same at the next competition," he promised.
He dedicated his medal to his mother. "My mother brought me in this sport 19 years ago. I invited her here, she flew from Russia to see the tournament, after all, it's a very rare opportunity to see the World Cup, since they are ofter held in Europe. Of course, she like this place very much. It's not surprising, because Baku always organizes and holds tournaments at the highest level - I don't think anyone can reach this level," he concluded.
