Interview with Dadash Dadashbayli (109 kg), weightlifter of the Azerbaijani national team, for Idman.biz.
- How do you remember 2024?
- Last year was very successful for me. Within a year, I had the joy of becoming both a World and European champion. Especially becoming a European champion after many years felt different.
- Along with success, there were also difficult moments in your career last year. For instance, being just one step away from the Olympic license...
- I was very close to the license. Like every athlete, the highest goal for me is the Olympics. Unfortunately, I faced many serious problems on that path. The most important of them was that my coach Asif Mammadov was not with me during such a difficult period.
- Why?
- After the previous management of the federation left, there were some confusing events. I thank all my coaches. I’m neither upset nor angry with anyone. However, the absence of Asif Məmmədov caused significant problems for me. We had planned all my technical and tactical moves with him. Fortunately, he is with me now. But the gap left during his absence caused serious issues. I was forced to change my weight category. By the time he returned, I was already competing in another weight category. Later, I tried to move to a heavier category, but it didn’t work out. I had to compete against much heavier athletes. It’s impossible to compete with a 180 kg athlete when you're only 109 kg. Additionally, during that time, I suffered a severe knee injury. I underwent surgery with the help of the federation. The vice president of our federation, Firdovsi Umudov, and my coaches waited for me at the hospital until I came out of surgery.
- Was it the injury or the absence of your coach that was the biggest obstacle on the way to the Olympics?
- The entire Azerbaijani sports community knows that I did everything I could on the road to the Olympics. So why didn’t it work out? I would answer this question by saying the main reason was the negligence of the coaches and their failure to make the right decisions in time. There were even rumors that 109 kg was not an Olympic weight. But that’s not true. Until the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, 109 kg was an Olympic weight in weightlifting. It was only after anti-doping rules came into effect that certain weight categories, including 109 kg, were removed. At the Islamic Solidarity Games, I lifted 174 kg with a serious injury in the 102 kg category. In short, I could have achieved results in 102 kg as well. But the coaches didn’t calculate the weight issue correctly. They wanted to develop new athletes for their own personal ambitions. It’s impossible to train a successful weightlifter in a short time. Every sport has its difficulties, but weightlifting is one of the hardest sports. I’m not saying this, the whole world says so. Our opponent is lifeless iron. It doesn’t get sick, its mood doesn’t change, and it doesn’t perform poorly in any competition. In other sports, an opponent’s performance can affect your result, but in weightlifting, the barbell is always there, ready to wait for you. That’s why in this sport, saying "I can do it" is not enough. You can often hear average athletes saying they will become European, World, or Olympic champions. We need to ask them, what are you doing today to win those titles?
- You speak very passionately.
- Actually, I’m not one to say such things. But I see that when I don’t speak, people misunderstand. Those who say “I will win” should know that behind every success, there is hard work. In sports, you must be prepared for all outcomes. For example, I couldn’t accept stopping just one step away from the license. I was upset with everyone, angry, maybe I was looking for someone to blame, or perhaps I blamed myself. I didn’t understand anything at that moment. Now, I’m slowly trying to get back on track. I promise that I will do my best to get the license for the Los Angeles Olympics.
- Four years isn’t a short time. Do you think your age will be an obstacle for you on the way to Los Angeles?
- I’m 28 years old, and I’ll be 31 at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics. If Ruslan Nurudinov can break a world record at the age of 34 in my weight category, why can’t Dadaş Dadaşbəyli win a medal at the Olympics at 31? Of course, age affects the outcome in sports. But 31 is not an age to give up in weightlifting.
- What about your rivals? Surely, there will be strong competitors in the next four years.
- I wish the next generation good luck. As an athlete, I’ve always accepted both winning and losing as normal. I’ve never acted with hatred or irony. There is no irreplaceable athlete. If Dadaş is here today, tomorrow there will be stronger athletes than me. I always say that while you’re dreaming of the years to come, I’m enjoying these years. "Dadaş took the title this year, next year we will beat him" is already an old saying. Every era has its own commander. I have been a good commander of my time.
- Speaking of eras, how many years have you been practicing weightlifting?
- I started going to the gym with my friends when I was in first grade. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. At that time, I didn’t even know what weightlifting was. There was no other sport in my district in Gobustan, except for weightlifting. From the moment I first entered the gym, the magic of the barbell attracted me. Later, I became friends with it. There were times when I sat and talked with the barbell. In short, I’ve been in the gym since I was six.
- Given the four years of deprivation you’ve experienced, it’s hard to imagine how difficult that time was for you.
- The day I was disqualified, I died once as an athlete. But God gave me a second chance.
- I’m very curious, how did those four years pass for you?
- It was very hard, very. I’ve been a successful athlete since a young age. At seventeen or eighteen, an athlete doesn’t understand what doping is. The foreign head coach was the one who gave it to us. After that incident, everyone said Dadaş was finished. The first two years were really tough. But I tried to stay strong. During that period, I was studying at the Azerbaijan Sports Academy. During my disqualification, I received the most support from Nizami Paşayev. He didn’t let me get away from sports and kept training me. I was upset with everyone, with everything, except for the barbell.
- How do you remember the last day of those four years?
- I remember it well, on December 21, 2019, my disqualification period ended. My friends and I were counting the hours. The next day, I entered the gym and shouted that I was free now, I was not a prisoner anymore.
- Have you forgiven those responsible?
- That’s a very hard question. I think I have forgiven them. But I’m not sure. Maybe it was just my fate.
Aytaj Sahed
Idman.biz
