The Russian athlete is a world champion!
In times of sanctions, this sounds really cool and unusual. Our boys have already won two gold medals at the World Wrestling Championships. First it was Akhmed Usmanov, who won his first title in the category up to 79 kg, and then Zaurbek Sidakov, who became a three-time champion in the weight category up to 74 kg.
For Zaurbek this victory was special. The fighter could not contain his emotions after the final, as he dedicated the gold to his recently deceased father.
“I fought for the victims of Beslan”
Zaurbek’s path in fighting began with tragic events. The athlete lived in the small Ossetian village of Zilgi, but he studied and trained in Beslan, in that same school number 1. During the terrible terrorist attack in 2004, many of Sidakov’s relatives were injured, but, fortunately, he was not in the school.
The incident so traumatized everyone in the region that Zaurbek’s parents prevented him from going to Beslan. I had to give up the fight.
A few months later, the boy finally started playing sports again, but nothing was going well for him. Defeats in competitions motivated the young fighter. He did not abandon training until he defeated one of his section mates.
What was Sidakov’s first great victory?
“The parents were so scared by Beslan that they stopped letting them go to training”
These efforts were not in vain. At the age of 19, Zaurbek became a member of the Russian national team and three years later became world champion. A year later, at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Sidakov defended his title. The fighter dedicated his victory to the victims of Beslan.
“I fought for all the victims, all those killed and injured in this monstrous terrorist attack. I grew up there, I started training there, for me Beslan is a small homeland, I remember everything and I will not forget anything. When there were mourning events, he told me: “I will fight for the good of this town. I will be world champion and I will dedicate the victory to them.” “That was my main motivation.”
That same year, Zaurbek won the World Cup and the European Games, and in 2021 he won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I’ve seen everything in my life!”
His father Kazbek was very happy with Sidakov’s victory in Japan. He even posted a touching video of the man’s reaction online.
“Now I can shout to the entire planet: the Sidakovs are the first! Zaurbek is an Olympic champion! What did he expect, what did he want? I saw everything in my life! “This is the best moment of my life,” said Kazbek Sidakov.
Sidakov won gold at the Olympic Games. And I couldn’t hold back the tears!
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The Russian wrestler could not hold back his tears after winning the Olympic Games. Sidakov has gold!
The father has always been an important person in Zaurbek’s life. And in April 2023, the athlete was left without his support: Kazbek Sidakov died in a car accident.
It all happened near Zaurbek’s hometown, at kilometer 540 of the Caucasus Highway. During the turn, the driver of the Toyota was not convinced of the safety of the maneuver and did not let the Audi, whose passenger was Kazbek Sidakov, pass. The impact took the car of the Olympic champion’s father into the oncoming lane, where it collided with a Lada. The four people injured in the accident were taken to hospital. And if the injuries of the three drivers were not life-threatening, then Sidakov Sr. was in critical condition. The doctors did everything they could, but they could not save the man.
“Only the mentality to win”
Despite his serious condition after the death of his father, Zaurbek continued training and preparing for competitions. Everything turned out not in vain, because the Olympic champion was miraculously allowed to participate in the World Championships in Belgrade.
“I was very happy when I found out that I could still participate in the World Championships. The most important thing is that we have completed all the preparation, the equipment is ready. I will prepare for each fight separately and fight as usual, I don’t plan to think of anything new. “Just have a winning mentality.”
And the Russian showed his spirit at the 2023 World Cup. In qualifying, Zaurbek achieved victory in the last seconds of the fight, and in the quarterfinals, in the duel against former Russian Khetik Tsabolov, he cut his eyebrow.
In the final, Sidakov faced four-time champion Kyle Dake of the United States. The decisive battle was very dramatic. The American opened the scoring, but the Russian left his opponent on the canvas and took a 3:1 lead.
True, Dake soon equalized the score at 3:3. But Zaurbek did not despair, he made a great attack and scored five points. Kyle’s team immediately won the challenge and the lead was reduced to a minimum – 8:7. And despite the frantic pressure of the American, in the end the Russian won with a score of 10:7.
How the Russians acted in Belgrade on the third day of the World Cup:
The Russian champion eliminated the American in the final of the World Wrestling Championship. What a handsome man!
The Russian could not contain his emotions after the victory. Zaurbek dedicated his third World Championship gold to his father. It was the thought of a loved one that helped our athlete reach the top of the podium again.
“Today God was on my side,” Sidakov told Match TV. “He probably deserved this victory more than anyone.” I dedicate it to my father. He would be very happy. And my mother, who was very worried. Thanks to everyone who was by my side. How did you manage to win? I just wanted to dedicate this victory to my father, he had great motivation. I believed until the last moment that they would allow us to participate in this World Cup, I did not give up and worked to achieve it. Thank God everything went well. I will train even harder and achieve success.”
