Ilya Khlybov: "In the training camp I worked with Alsim. He applied throws to me as if I were just a sack dummy"

The World Sambo Championship ended in Sochi. The Sverdlovsk region team traditionally contributed to the overall team standing and won two gold and two bronze medals. The coaching staff of the regional main team was traditionally headed by Valery Stennikov, assisted by Ilya Khlybov, a five-time world champion who finished his career last year. In the interview with Oblgazeta, Ilya summed up the results of the World Championship for athletes from Sverdlovsk region and shared his feelings about being in the stands but not on the wrestling mat. He also told what he was talking about with Alsim Chernoskulov before the final bout, and who would head the coaching staff of our region.

"If you decide to quit, you should quit."

It was your first World Championship as a coach. What emotions did you experience?

“Just recently we have gone to the European Championship held in Minsk. Everything passed off quite peacefully and easy, both emotionally and physically. As for the World Championship, it is a much more important tournament. Besides, it took place on the home ground, in Sochi. We were preparing hard and tuning up for the competition. There were four athletes from Sverdlovsk region, which was almost a half of the men's national team. And the competition turned out to be really tough. It was necessary to motivate all the athletes, especially for the first fight. They were not supposed to relax. I was constantly shouting, giving hints from the stands. Let's take Alsim Chernoskulov, for example. He won the first fight with the clear lead, and then relaxed, and the rest of the fights went hard. That is unacceptable, as I have learned it to my cost. Therefore, it is necessary to get this message across to the trainees. I talked to Valery Glebovich about who would second a bout, and we agreed upon him. Maybe, the last time”.

Is he thinking about retiring?

“When I started my coaching career, he told me to work on my own. He won’t get in my way. He helps me sometimes, gives me a clue but he does not interfere in the training process. I just have my own reading of the training process and my own coaching approach, while he has a different one”.

Have your emotions already subsided? Do you miss bouts?

“I often go out on the mat. We had training camps before the World Championship. We did not have enough sparring partners, so I, for one, sparred with Vladimir Balykov. I also had to spar with Alsim. He applied throws to me as if I were just a sack dummy (laughs). I work with the athletes for myself, so I do not think about competitions anymore. If you decide to quit, you should quit. I mean, a lot of us quit, but then go back to wrestling again. Some say that I will want to go back to the mat. I want to do wrestling, it is true. But I will not be taking part in competitions anymore. The health differs from what I used to have. I would rather save it for the young trainees so that I could go out on the mat and show them holds and techniques, but not just sit and whistle”.

"Lack of experience"

How would you evaluate the performance of Sverdlovsk athletes at the World Championship?

“Generally speaking, I think they performed pretty well. Everyone won medals. Of course, it would be nice to capture four gold medals, but we should not forget that this is the World Championship, and anything can happen here. We will move on, although the tournament, certainly, took it out of me. It is easier to go out and compete on your own: if you win, you win; if you lose, you lose. And here you have got four athletes, you have to explain to each of them how to behave in this or that bout, what to do. If an athlete does not do well, the coach is there to tell them what to do. Athletes need to listen to their seconds because things are always more obvious to those on the sidelines. Once athletes stop listening, they no longer keep control over the fight. And here we have the pressure from opponents and the pressure of the World Championship...”

What can you say about the performance of Vladimir Balykov, who, after his success at the Russian Championship, won gold at the World Championship?

“He said that a throw did not work out. Yes, he applied fewer throws, performed painful holds, but not so often as it was desired. We had a program to follow. The strategy was to take a hold, pressure an opponent and do not let them do anything. On the sidelines it could seem as if we were doing nothing either, but due to the successful hold we constantly pressure our opponent, make them come off the mat and fall to their knees. That is how we get the advantage. We did not do everything we planned, it is true. But it does not always work out to apply a throw, and to win beautifully. This is the World Championship. One mistake here and you go home without a medal”.

What did Valery Soronokov and Ilya Lebedev lack to reach the finals?

“Certainly, it must be said that the opponents were very strong. The current world champions. Our athletes lacked a bit of experience. Sometimes the judges were not on our side. Now everyone sees that the Russian national team is full of gold medals, so they want the rest of the countries to win medals as well. Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia. The Koreans looked decent at this Championship. By the way, in one of the weight categories even a Cameroonian got into the top three winners. Many countries are making a progress, they are no easy targets. It is good that sambo is developing. However, speaking about Lebedev and Soronokov, one could say it is down to them that they underperformed. They screwed up, gave a passive performance. They had to take risks and perform throws. Ilya started acting on the offensive at the end of the fight, a bit out of time. Valery should have been a little more diverse in his tactics. A little more tricky. He made three holds and the Mongolian foresaw everything. He is an experienced wrestler. So it turned out that Valery lost — 1:0”.

"Alsim always listens but does not always do"

During the broadcast of Alsim Chernoskulov's final fight, you were shown close-up several times. You were quite energetic when hinting him something...

“We discussed it with him even before the bout that he should do a rolling knee bar. Thus, he could win easily without even fighting. But Alsim is the kind of a person who always listens but does not always do. Valery Glebovich sometimes swears at him during trainings. Like, I am telling you, I am explaining things to you, and you are just standing here, nodding your head (laughs). Obviously, he is an experienced athlete, and it goes without saying. But it is important to listen to the coach's hints. We worked out how to fight the Georgian, he went out to the mat, followed the strategy for only one minute, but then it got hard. He did a good job anyway. He did a rolling knee bar and submitted his opponent”.

After the final fight, Alsim showed the number five — the number of gold medals of the World Championships. Was that gesture addressed to you personally?

“No, I do not think so. I think he was just thrilled to bits. I do not remember how excited I was when I won my fifth gold. But he decided to show it with a gesture. There is no rivalry between us. I will be happy if he wins the sixth, seventh, eighth gold…”

Is he able to do it?

“Sure. His technique is great, full of throws. But he is different during competitions. We will work to make his performance at championships no worse than during training bouts. He finally moved into the weight category up to 100 kilograms. He is certainly tired of weight management, he is already of different age. In standing position, maybe, it is even easier: the rapidity is not the same as in the weight category up to 90 kilograms. Some physical quality is needed, of course, but Alsim has enough of it whether he is 100 kilograms or even over 100 kilograms. Not everyone benefits from weight loss. Someone loses weight, but then just stands on the mat and cannot fight. So what is the point of weight reduction if you can perform effectively in your weight category?”

"Now I feel like going to banya and cooking something on fire."

Alsim Chernoskulov, a five-time world sambo champion:

“Speaking of the championship, the day I competed was very challenging. In the finals, I had an experienced opponent, so the tactics I followed - to win the hold and pressure the opponent - did not always work out. Instead, there were some moments when David was winning the hold. Many people ask me why I participate in the World Championship again and again. I am keen on wrestling. I enjoy achieving results and winning. There were four world champions in our weight category, the competition was high. I had been planning to move up to 100 kg category for a long time as it became hard to cut weight. So I made an informed decision.

Amy gesture after a victory? I addressed it to my family who came to support me: father, sisters, girlfriend. Apparently, my emotions got the better of me. Generally, I am cold in my manner. But there was a tough bout and I was losing it. There was not much time left so I realized that ground fighting might be risky. If I failed the hold, I would not have enough time to win back. But when I succeeded in the painful hold, I realized I would definitely win. Before the final bout, I remembered that I had four gold and three silver medals, so I had to tip the scales in the right direction. I am already 34 years old. Many athletes already finish their career at that age. I certainly do not feel old, I am still in a good physical condition. I used to dream of being an eleven-time world champion, so let’s see what happens next.

The second fight with a Greek wrestler I put out a lot, I literally could hardly walk, and ten minutes later, I was called up for the final fight with a Latvian sambist. And the Latvian athlete there was so much like Hightower from "Police Academy", you know. It was hard to fight him, too. Already afterwards, I felt a little wobbly. But I told myself I would win the finals whatever it took. I am very happy for other athletes, especially for Vladimir Balykov. He wanted to finish his career due to injury, but Valery Glebovich persuaded him to come back, and he became the world champion.

Now my idea is to have a little rest, relax and then start getting ready for the Russian Championship. I certainly feel like going somewhere to have a rest, but first I want to go to my homeland, enjoy banya and homemade dish cooked on fire”.

SVERDLOVSK REGION ATHLETES AT THE SAMBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

• Valery Soronokov — 3rd place in the weight category up to 52 kilograms;
• Vladimir Balykov — 1st place in the weight category up to 68 kilograms;
• Ilya Lebedev — 3rd place in the weight category up to 74 kilograms;
• Alsim Chernoskulov — 1st place in the weight category up to 100 kilograms.