Aghamalyan: We wouldn’t win 4 quotas if the tournament weren’t held in Turkey

At Rio-2016, our country will be represented by Artur Hovhannisyan (49 kg), Narek Abgaryan (52 kg), Aram Avagyan (56 kg) and Vladimir Sargsyan (59 kg).

“Tension was great, as it was our last chance to win quotas. You know, the last qualifying tournament will be held in Baku, where we’re 99 % sure we won’t go. This was our war, which we won and dedicated to the memory of soldiers killed in recent days. I have to say that we worked an awful lot, I could see that the guys were ready to win. However, if the tournament weren’t held in Turkey, perhaps we wouldn’t have earned so many quotas,” said the team’s head coach Karen Aghamalyan.

The coach is satisfied with the performance of his athletes, who did everything to win. Hovhannes Bachkov earned a quota in his last fight, but “Irish referee made a mistake. I know him, he’s a good specialist, but when he gave a point to Hovhannes’s opponent for no reason, I realized it was ordered. We would have had 5 quotas, if not for that.”

Aghamalyan noted that it is all in the past, and they should forget everything and prepare for the Olympic Games.

“We have to make effort and strive for more again. I trust my athletes, and I’m sure that they’ll perform well at the Olympiad too,” summed up the coach.