Sergey Soloveychik. “Judo is an ambassador of peace”

The president of the European Judo Federation Sergey Soloveychik arrived to Yerevan on occasion of the European Youth Judo tournament, and was watching the process of the tournament in the Karen Demirchyan stadium. Even if you are sure that people respect the responsibilities undertaken by them and are ready to implement them, anyhow you desire to see And to check everything by your own eyes and to form your own impression. Especially when in the case of Armenia there were also some disturbing issues, as for the first time in the post-Soviet period Azerbaijani sport delegation had arrived to Armenia. Surely there was a need to check and fide out how the attitude towards them is and whether the hosting side realizes all its duties or not.

- Organizing such kind of tournaments is a very difficult process, said the president of the European Judo Federation Sergey Soloveychik to the Aysor.am journalist during the conversation, - especially for the not so big federations as the Armenian Judo Federation is. Anyway I am satisfied as the level of this tournament was not lower than the others. In some cases it was even better prepared. The quality of the organizing process was high. The Armenians are very hospitable nation, and I am really satisfied.

- It was the first time that the Azerbaijani sport delegation visited Armenia. And though it is surprising the members of the Azerbaijani delegation didn’t agree to speak to the representatives of the Armenian media. So I would like to ask you personally how have the Azerbaijani sportsmen felt themselves in Armenia? Of course I hope that you have had a discussion with them and you know the answer.

This was not only the step of Azerbaijan but also the step of Armenia. Armenia made a step forward inviting the Azerbaijani Federation and showed its readiness to realize some demands for the Azerbaijani delegation to arrive to Armenia. It is very important. So I would say that the first step has been done by the Armenian side.

The Azerbaijani Judo Federation is very strong and has got a lot of good sportsmen. They answered in the same way, they came here, though they had some reasons and it was not that much easy to apply immediately. May be that is the reason why the Azerbaijani delegation didn’t want to speak to the Armenian media. However we have spoken to them and I am sure that they are pleased. I know that there have been realized a lot of things in Yerevan for the Azerbaijani to feel themselves as the rest of the delegations. I know also that some of the members of the Azerbaijani delegation have visited the graves of their relatives. I know that in the VIP section has been organized diner for the Azerbaijani delegation. Probably the respectful attention towards the Azerbaijani delegation was too much stressed.

When we say that Judo is not just a sport we understand that judo is a peace ambassador for us, it educates the youth as it forms a respect towards his friends, his rivals and trainers, etc. This is taught from the very childhood. I attach more importance to the respect towards the rival, doesn’t matter what kind of relations do they or their countries have. I think that the sport helps people having different political looks to find a general language. I am happy that judo served as a small bridge between our countries. Yes, Azerbaijan and Armenia are my countries, and I am proud that judo helped to make bridge between these two countries.

- Can Yerevan have the hope of making bigger tournaments in the future?

- It depends on the Armenian federation. It has to realize some of the demands. One of them is receiving delegations from all over the world without political context and interests. Armenia proved already that can receive all of them showing good will, and organized the tournament with high quality. And this means that yes Yerevan is eligible to organize bigger tournaments.

- Almost all the federations if sports today tend to make their works on the professional basis. What is the disposition of the European Judo federation in this concern?

We wish judo could become a professional sport. We would like to realize serious marketing activities and have implemented some steps in that direction. Now we have got a new project that has been affirmed in the congress of the Federation. We have just stated realizing that project and the results will come out in some years.

What are Your impressions about Armenia?

You know, I didn’t manage to see too much, as the schedule of the European tournament is too heavy. I had learnt from different films that it is a beautiful country with beautiful nature. And what I saw and what is not able to see in the films was the treatment of people, their hospitability. I have friend here, and it is always wonderful visiting somewhere where they wait for you, they meet you and understand you. This is the most important thing. There are a lot of nice countries in the world, but the countries where you feel yourself comfortable, and at home, where there are people who you are always eager to speak whit are not too much. I like visiting Armenia and I hope that I will have a lot of opportunities visiting Yerevan.