KFU alumna Kseniya Zadvornova wins gold in European Sambo Championships 2024 in Novi Sad, Serbia
The athlete prevailed in the 72 kg category.
“Everything turned out as planned,” commented Zadvornova after the fact.
Prior to the competition in Serbia, training camps were held in Yekaterinburg (where most of the work was done), Sochi, and Moscow.
In the finals Kseniya Zadvornova defeated Belarusian Angela Zhilinskaya. They had previously also wrestled for gold at the World Championships. Zadvornova went to the decisive meeting with a confident mood.
“I think I managed to win thanks to great motivation, as well as the fact that a lot of work was done in training. At the bout itself, the body worked automatically. My opponent tried to perform a technical action, and I reacted and counterattacked, thus earning a score,” the young woman shared.
The champion of Russia, Europe and the world in sambo proudly bears another title – alumna of Kazan Federal University. A year ago she graduated from the Institute of International Relations, having defended her thesis and passed the state exam with an excellent grade. Higher education and professional sports, she believes, do not interfere with each other in any way, but on the contrary – they toughen character and discipline.
“Thanks to the skills acquired at the Institute, such as analyzing and collecting information, the ability to build communication with teachers and classmates, I can agree on some training camps, analyze my fights, make tables to prepare for competitions. Combining studies and sports helps me to concentrate my attention,” adds the champion.
At some previous competitions the wrestler, having come off the coveted podium, found herself in the commentator’s chair.
“Here, of course, you need the skill of speaking – you need to formulate your thoughts correctly, and in this my education also helped me. There is an opinion that athletes neglect intellectual development, for me it is always offensive, because I want to develop in all spheres of life and have a broad outlook,” she said. “I studied English at the university, and it’s very useful now. The competitions were held in Serbia, where I communicated a lot in English with locals and foreigners. It’s very cool to know a language, especially in sports, as you can find a lot of friends all over the world.”
In the future, Zadvornova hopes her life will be connected to sports in one way or another. Perhaps she will go into administration or work in public relations. Right now, her desire is to show herself in athletics.