Student Kseniya Zadvornova wins 73rd Russian Sambo Championship

She triumphed in the 72 kg category and will join the world championship in Armenia in November 2023.

Over 650 athletes from 71 Russian provinces partook in the event. According to Kseniya, she had a tough competition. Her first two wins came by throws and by submission. The semifinal was against Kseniya’s usual rival who had just defeated her in a judo championship, but the KFU student prevailed by just one point. The final was versus two-time world champion, Anastasiya Khomyachkova, and Kseniya won 1:0.

The winner took up sambo very recently, in April 2022, but is already very successful thanks to her background in judo. She was invited to try the new sport by Vasily Ivanov, KFU’s in-house judo and sambo coach.

Zadvornova’s preparation plan including two training sessions a day for two months in the run-up to the tournament.