Margarita BAZHAYEVA: “My gold medal is the result of a battle with myself”

On August 2-3, Singapore hosted the 5th World Beach SAMBO Championships, bringing together athletes from 20 countries. Among the gold medalists was Kazakhstan’s Margarita Bazhayeva, who triumphed in the women’s up to 50 kg weight category. In an interview with the FIAS website, Margarita spoke about her challenging preparation, key moments of the final bout, and the significance of this victory for her career.

According to the athlete, the road to success was far from easy. The greatest challenges came not on the sand, but during the training process:

“Preparation was very hard, with many difficult moments I had to overcome. It was a battle with myself. Today I’m happy that all the effort paid off.”

At the championship, Bazhayeva fought twice, and she admitted that the final was the toughest challenge:

“In the decisive bout, your mindset is especially important. My opponent was strong – earlier in the semifinals she defeated a skilled and experienced athlete. The bout lasted longer than my first match and required maximum focus.”

Margarita noted that, for the first time, she completely focused on herself and her coach’s instructions, avoiding all distractions:

“I didn’t look at my opponent, the cameras, or the crowd. It was just me, my coach, and what he was telling me.”

The victory in Singapore allowed her to complete the full set of World Beach SAMBO Championship medals: silver in 2023 in the Dominican Republic, bronze in 2024 in Morocco, and now gold in 2025.

This medal is especially meaningful for Bazhayeva as just a year ago she was recovering from a serious knee injury:

“There was a period when I had to believe in myself again and start from scratch. This medal is proof that I was able to do it.”

Now, the athlete is focused on the main event of the season – the World SAMBO Championships, set to take place in November in Kyrgyzstan.

As for the conditions in Singapore, Bazhayeva said they were not a surprise: the humid climate and specific beach surface were already familiar from previous tournaments. Arriving a day before the weigh-in gave the team time to adapt, and the short, three-minute Beach SAMBO bouts helped cope with the unusual heat.