Interview with Azerbaijan national boxer Aynur Mikayilova for Idman.biz
- With your success in Montenegro, you’ve etched your name in the history of Azerbaijani boxing. You’ll now be remembered as the first Azerbaijani girl to win a medal at the World Youth Championships. How do you remember Montenegro?
- Achieving this result required a lot of hard work. We had been away from home as a team for two months, spending about a month in Azerbaijan and a month in Uzbekistan for training camps. After that, we went to Montenegro. As a team, we were very well prepared for the competition, but in the end, I was the only one to win a medal.
- How did you reward yourself after the competition?
- To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to rest yet. We returned on the fourth day after the competition and resumed training the very next day. The senior Azerbaijan Championship is coming up, and we’re preparing for that with all our strength.
- What are your plans for the prize you won?
- I’m planning to buy a car. Living in the Saray settlement, the constant commute to Baku is exhausting.
- And that’s it?
- Well, my family has a credit debt, so I’ll probably pay that off too.
- Speaking of your family, how did they react to your success?
- I can’t put into words the joy I saw in their eyes. After I won my first match against the Romanian opponent, my family knew a medal was just one step away. But they didn’t know when I would fight. I never tell them the time of my fights because neither my mom nor my dad can watch the fight because of excitement. After I won the medal, I called them via video call. My mom was crying with joy.
- Does anyone else in your family do sports?
- My sister is a boxer, and my brother plays football. Since I’m the eldest, they first directed me to sports, and then they also started to get involved.
- Who directed you?
- My grandfather. I think he saw potential in me. I’m doing everything I can to fulfill his hopes. Actually, the results I have now mean nothing to me. I have bigger goals.
- Such as?
- I want the medals I win to be gold.
- This time, it was bronze...
- I couldn’t win the gold medal because of some small mistakes. I lost to a Turkish opponent, but the champion was a Chinese fighter. I had a feeling that if I had made it to the final, I would have beaten the Chinese fighter. Honestly, I didn’t like the referee in that match either. My opponent held me a lot, and the referee only made remarks to me. I believe I could have managed. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
- One of the most memorable fights for me was against your Hungarian opponent, Réka Varga Sara. She seemed very aggressive.
- I felt that aggression too. She greeted me with a strong handshake to put psychological pressure on me. But when we started fighting, I sensed she was scared. I overcame that fear and won.
- You cried after the match.
- I always cry in the ring. I’m a very emotional person.
- How does your coach behave during the fight?
- He motivates me during training, but once we’re in the ring, sometimes the opponent hits me, and then I hit back. In January, there was a tournament in Serbia. I usually lose the first round. I tend to start performing better in the second or third rounds. In Serbia, as usual, I lost the first round. When I went to the corner, Coach İlkin slapped my face with the corners of his towel so hard that my face went numb. He was so angry about the way I was losing. When he squeezed the vein in my neck, I came to my senses. I went back into the ring and won. Our coach has a unique approach to working with each athlete.
- Have you changed your weight class recently? Was that your coach’s advice or your choice?
- The World Championship in the youth category was my first competition at 57 kg. I was supposed to compete at 54 kg in the European Championship in April, but I couldn’t because of an arm tear. After my weight increased, I told my coach that I wouldn’t be able to cut down to 54 kg anymore; it’s too difficult now. At first, the coach didn’t agree because my height is small, but with good technique and endurance, I can manage. Height matters in boxing because a taller fighter's punch reaches the head of a shorter one.
- Weight cutting seems to be a challenge for you.
- Yes. Imagine, even now, I have to cut weight for 57 kg. Those nights of hunger are very tough. When we cut weight, we don’t crave food but just water. But water itself adds weight. Before a fight, if I have to cut weight, hunger and anxiety keep me awake. Once, I had a fight in Belarus, and I couldn’t sleep because of thirst. I couldn’t bear it and drank 200 grams of water. The next morning, I weighed 100 grams more, and no matter what I did, it didn’t drop. In the end, they gave me the 100 grams. But just think, even 100 grams can cause a huge problem. Sometimes, I get angry at myself for choosing boxing, a sport that depends on weight, out of all the sports.
- There’s been a significant increase in the number of girls choosing boxing in recent years. What do you think it’s related to?
- Yes, there were few girls in boxing before. But now, there’s money in it, so more girls are involved. Before, if you beat one or two strong opponents, you could become the Azerbaijan champion, but now every weight class has its own strong competitors.
- Like many athletes, you probably want to test your strength at the Olympics.
- Yes, I really want to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics. Before that, I have set goals for myself. In the next four years, there will be two World Championships and four European Championships. I aim to win gold in those competitions.
- Women in boxing. Isn’t it tough?
- When I first started boxing, relatives and neighbors asked, “Sports is not for girls” But my family and close ones always supported me. Sometimes, people ask me, “Who will marry you?” (smiles)
- What’s your life like outside the gym?
- Honestly, most of my day is spent in the gym. My closest friend is also a boxer, Gizbas Isgandarli. We train together and go to competitions. I do have friends outside of sports, but I don’t have much time to spend with them. When my friends want to go out, I rush off to practice. They often get upset with me for this.
- Do you manage housework?
- Of course. When my dad asks for tea, should I tell him I’m an athlete and won’t bring it?
Aytaj Sahed
Idman.biz
