Minsk 2019. Belarusian sambists win four bronze medals!

On June 22, the second competition day at the 2nd European Games, the competitions in sambo wrestling took place. Five Belarusian athletes fought for bronze medals. Four of them managed to yield results: Anfisa Kopayeva, Vladislav Burd, Timofei Yemelyanov and Tatiana Matsko.

The first medal was won by Anfisa Kopayeva in women’s under -48 kg weight category, in the medal fight she defeated the Armenian athlete Asya Lalazaryan with a 1:0 win over. On this day, Anfisa celebrated her 24th birthday.

 Anfisa Kopayeva: “I am very happy. For the first time I take part in such major competitions. Of course, I wanted to fight for gold, not for bronze. I was calm and cool, but I guess it was not enough. Today is my birthday, so it's nice to win a medal for myself and the country.”

Following Anfisa, Vladislav Burd claimed bronze in Men’s -57 kg. He was stronger than the Turkish athlete Emre Celik –  6-0.

 Vladislav Bourd: “In general, we tuned to the finals. Since the championship is held at home, we set the maximum tasks. Well, we have what we have. We will work further to fight for gold next time. ”

Timofei Emelyanov contributed to the team’s collection of awards in Men’s -82 kg, having defeated the Italian athlete Alessio Miceli in the medal round – 0-0.

 Timofei Emelyanov: “I am not satisfied with the result. But there is a medal, which means that the work has been done and it is visible. Thanks to the viewers and my family for the support.”

The Belarusian athlete Tatiana Matsko also managed to secure bronze in Women’s -64kg. The champion of the European Games in Baku failed in the semifinals. But managed to beat the Italian athlete Pern Alice in the fight for bronze with a 10:0 win over.

 Tatiana Matsko: “I am very upset. I know I can do more, I counted on the finals. I am definitely not satisfied with the fight at all, especially with the first meeting. I felt nervous same as I felt at ordinary competitions. Sometimes everything goes the way it shouldn’t. Today is that day.”

Congratulations to the athletes and the whole Belarusian sambo team!

Press Service of the NOC Belarus

Photo: NOC Belarus Press Service of the NOC Belarus (Sergei Neverkevich), BelTA