Svetlana Osipova, who won silver at the 2017 Indoor Indoor Games in Ashgabat, bronze in the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, and the bronze medalist at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, is currently preparing for the Chiba Grand Prix. The press service of the WTF Taekwondo Association of Uzbekistan talked to her.
– It is interesting to students how your entry to Taekwondo happened.
– I came to sports by chance. When I was young I used to go to big tennis. One day, as I was watching the workshop, a man approached me and suggested that I try myself in taekwondo. But I didn’t take it seriously. After a while the same coach came again. So I was uncomfortable in front of him and decided to go to taekwondo with my dad.
– Who was your first coach?
– My first coach is Pakhlavon Sabirov. He was the coach above. It is because of his inclination that I came to taekwondo. Today, I am participating in the training camp under Pakhlavan-aka.
– Why exactly is Taekwondo?
– When I first went to work I had a great impression and even a little scared. After all, bumps in the head are not a joke. Boys also used to work with girls and even sparring. It was a little weird to me.
– What is your dream in sports?
– The dream of any athlete is to win the Olympic Games. But to get out there, you must do your best and get rid of some harmful habits. It is necessary to follow strict regime and to follow the procedure.
– Athletes will have a special meal. What is unacceptable to taekwondo players?
– Most of the time we live in a training base. Here we eat the food we have prepared. Some people take a diet to maintain their weight. But not everyone. Athletes can’t afford fast food, carbonated drinks and other harmful foods, but sometimes I just want to eat them (laughs).
– What other sports are you interested in besides Taekwondo?
– As I said before, I used to play tennis before the taekwondo. Before that, I went to gymnastics and judo. All sports are interesting and attractive. The main thing is to do something you like.
– So far, our taekwondo athletes have not yet won a medal at the Olympics. Do you think it’s time to close this gap?
– The leadership of the WTF Taekwondo Association of Uzbekistan and the taekwondo team are working hard to achieve this result.
– What advice would you give to young people now entering sports or taekwondo?
– If something goes wrong, you should not be discouraged and continue to work harder.
