Dagestan wrestler of the Uzbekistan national team Ilyas Bekbulatov will perform at the Aliyev tournament

Dagestan wrestler of Uzbekistan national team, European and Asian champion Ilyas Bekbulatov in an interview with wrestdag.ru told about future plans and when will be the first start.

- Ilyas, wrestling fans have lost sight of you lately...
- Nothing has changed for me, I continue to train slowly. Mainly I train in Gamidov sports school in Makhachkala, sometimes I go to my native Kayakent to train. At the moment for the fourth week I am at the Gunib base “Shamil's Fortress”, where joint training camps of our fighters and fighters are held. I am gradually getting in shape and at the same time I am helping my friend and teammate Zhavrail Shapiyev (86 kg) to prepare for the Olympics. I think we will spend another 10-15 days in Gunib.  Frankly speaking, it's very good here, I don't want to leave. 

- You yourself could be preparing for the Olympics now...
- Unfortunately, the Uzbekistan Wrestling Federation did not give me a chance to qualify for the Games in this cycle. I thought that coaches would send me together with Razambek Zhamalov and Bekzod Abdurakhmonov to the rating tournament in Budapest, but it didn't happen. I haven't been on the mat for a long time because of injuries and maybe they think that I don't train. In any case, you should always be ready. If I can't perform in Paris, I would like to fight in the weight up to 70 kg at the World Championships in non-Olympic categories at the end of the year.  

- Fans hoped to see you at the Asian Championships in April, why didn't you compete in Bishkek?
- I would have loved to take part in these competitions, but they started two days after the month of Ramadan. I was fasting, so I trained sparingly for the whole month. Naturally, I was not in perfect shape. After all, I am not 20 years old anymore, and the body takes longer to recover. And I didn't see the point in going out on the mat unprepared.

- When is your next start?
- I plan to perform at the end of the month at the tournament in memory of A. Aliyev in Kaspiysk. I will return from Gunib to Makhachkala a couple of days before the start of the tournament.

- Will you fight in the category up to 70 kg?
- No, in 74 kg. Until the end of the Olympic cycle I will compete in this weight.