Charity JATAU: "I, a debutante from Nigeria, was able to become the World Champion in Beach SAMBO"

Nigerian athlete Charity Jatau made, perhaps, the main sensation at the World Beach SAMBO Championships held in Morocco. The tournament debutant won the gold medal in the women's 50 kg weight category. In an interview for the FIAS website, Charity revealed the secret of training for victories, assessed her titled opponent in the final and told how she will prepare for the World SAMBO Championships in Kazakhstan.

Charity, this year you competed for the first time in the African SAMBO Championships, winning a gold medal in Sport SAMBO and a bronze medal in Beach SAMBO. Several months have passed after that, and you have already become the World Champion in Beach SAMBO. What has happened during this period of time?

– Having returned home to Nigeria after the continental championship, I began to train hard on the sand. I was guided by a coach, I had many sparring sessions with various athletes. If at the African Championship I had no experience at all in this discipline, then during these two months I thoroughly studied the various nuances of this sport.

In the final, you were opposed by Oksana Kobeleva, last year’s World Champion in Beach SAMBO…

– When I went into the bout, I didn’t know this. I didn’t specifically find out anything about my opponents in advance, I just watched how they performed at the tournament. And I built my own tactics based on what I saw.

But now you know this…

– Yes, and I am incredibly excited by the fact that I, a debutante from Nigeria, was able to defeat such a titled and skilled sambist. I think it’s good that I learned about her achievements only after the bout was over.

It seemed from the outside that the last minute of the match was the most difficult for you, when the referees gave you the activity, and therefore your opponent began to carry out even more dangerous attacks.

– Indeed, at that moment the pressure on me increased. Oksana worked actively, I did not know what exactly to expect from her, so it was not easy. We met for the first time, and I felt that my opponent was very strong. But I was also fine. Of course, initially I planned to win with a technical action – a throw, but it turned out to finish the bout in my favor with the help of tactics. One way or another, this allowed me to become the World Champion in Beach SAMBO and win a gold medal for Nigeria.

Charity, what are your plans now?

– I want to do everything possible so that as many people as possible in Nigeria learn about SAMBO. I think many people in our country will like this sport, especially guys will appreciate Combat SAMBO.

And what about your personal career?

– I will prepare myself for the World SAMBO Championships in Kazakhstan. I need to go to a training camp before the tournament, and I need a good coach who will give me more knowledge about SAMBO. Now, what I do is mostly judo techniques. But I understand that at a higher level, it will not be enough to win. To qualify for the gold of the world championship, I need to study SAMBO techniques in detail. There are coaches in Nigeria who can help me with this.