I dedicate my victories over Turkish and Azerbaijani rivals to the heroes of the Four-Day War: Malkhas Amoyan

In the European Championship, I dedicate my victories over my Turkish and Azerbaijani rivals to the heroes of the Four-Day War of 2016, to the fallen and wounded soldiers. It was on April 2nd.

This was stated by the world and European champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, European silver medalist, and M23 European champion Malkhas Amoyan, in an interview with a NEWS.am Sport correspondent from Hungary.

The 23-year-old wrestler became champion in the new 77 kg weight category by defeating a Turkish rival in the finals held on April 2 in Budapest, Hungary. On his way to the gold medal, the world champion had five matches. In the qualifying round, he defeated Lithuania's Mantas Sinkevicius (9:0), in the Round of 16, he beat Slovakian Denis Chorvat (5:1), in the quarter-finals, he won against Azerbaijan's Sanan Suleymanov, the world vice-champion and European champion (6:5), in the semi-finals, he overcame Sweden's Per Albin Olofsson (9:0) and in the finals, he triumphed over the European vice-champion and M23 European champion, Turkish Yunus Emre Bashar (4:3).

“Which match would you highlight, which was the most difficult for you?”

I would highlight the quarter-final match, because my rival was Sanan Suleymanov, the 2020 European champion and 2021 world champion from Azerbaijan. It turned out to be a very tense match, and I managed to win by a score of 6:5. That victory was very hard for me. I would also highlight the final match, which is always more tense. This final was also tough as my opponent was Turkish. The tension and responsibility were greater since it was April 2nd, the day of the Four-Day War of 2016.

I especially want to emphasize that I dedicate my victories over these two rivals, the Azerbaijani and Turkish wrestlers, to all the heroes of the Four-Day War, to the fallen and wounded soldiers. Winning that day was very responsible for me. I don’t want to single out, because like those involved in the Four-Day War, all the brave souls who died for the homeland during the 44-Day War are our heroes. But since that day was indeed the anniversary of the April War, I want to dedicate my victories over both a Turk and an Azerbaijani to them.

While wrestling with both opponents, I periodically had thoughts about the war, but I tried to keep my mind focused on the match itself so that it wouldn’t distract me from achieving my main goal. I needed the victory so that I could later rejoice in these wins.

However, at the end of the final, the Turkish wrestler was in tears, and you helped him up off the mat and comforted him. How did your opponent respond to your gesture?

That is the nature of our sport. The wrestling family is different. I don’t know whether it was right or wrong to approach him and lift him up, but at that moment, I felt it was the right thing to do. One day, our athletes will also face losses against them if we treat them poorly; they will treat us poorly in return.

What emotions did you experience on the podium?

I had indescribable feelings. My emotions doubled when I saw the joy of the Armenian people receiving my victory, how everyone reacted and rejoiced in my achievement. It further obliges me to always keep the Armenian flag held high. This great victory is for the Armenian and Yezidi nations.