Denis TACHII: “It is Difficult to Cut 14 kg Every Month”

Moldavian sambist Denis Tachii won a bronze medal at the International SAMBO Tournament of “A” Category for the Prizes of the President of the Republic of Belarus in Minsk. In an interview for the FIAS website, he told how he evaluates his results, why he changed the weight category, and what goal he set for the season.

– At this traditional strongest international category “A” tournament in Minsk, we are very happy about the first medal that I just won. Of course, there was a big break in participations in competitions after the World Championships, but we have already gone into preparation for the new season, and this is the first start for us and the first results of what we have gained over all this time. We will continue to work, correct mistakes, so that by the European Championships we will be at a very good level and give a fight at the strongest continental tournament.

– What has changed in your technique in the new season?

– I must say that until the II European Games in Minsk I fought in the weight category up to 100 kg, but with age you grow, add, and genetics takes its toll. No matter how hard I work out, my weight has grown, and I, together with the coaching staff, decided to move to the “plus”. Because it is difficult to cut 14 kg every month. We started the training cycle in the new weight category, where new challenges began to appear in front of me. In this tournament, I lost to a sambist from Romania, Ilie Natea. Of course, it’s amazing to fight with such a guy, whose weight is probably 180-190 kg. For any athlete who comes to grips with him, this is a very big problem that only a few can solve. But we will come up with something so that in the future it turns out to win.

– What are your goals for the season?

– The immediate goal is the European SAMBO Championships, for which we will systematically prepare. Further, of course, we will think about the World Championships, but today this tournament is still very far away. Well, and the next tournament I plan to participate is the Kharlampiev Memorial World Cup in Moscow. I consider it as one of the stages of preparation for the continental championships.