MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –
A first-year student of the ICEF International Bachelor’s Program in Economics and Finance, Georgy Khvatkin, won gold at the World Youth Championship in Combat Sambo. The competition was held in Larnaca, Republic of Cyprus, and was attended by 575 athletes from 33 countries. Georgy won in the 98 kg weight category. In an express interview with the champion, Master of Sports Georgy Khvatkin, we talk about how the important decision to enter ICEF was made, how long and how many days a week Georgy has been training, what Jackie Chan has to do with it, and how great it is to have a beloved twin sister.
From the personal archive of Georgy Khvatkin
– Georgy, congratulations on your gold, we are proud of such a student! How and why did you decide to enter ICEF? What were your guidelines?
– Entering ICEF was a conscious decision. My parents found out about ICEF first. They both graduated from the Philology Department of Moscow State University, and then my dad got a law degree, and my mom got an economics degree. My mom is very knowledgeable about economics and helped us choose a profession. We studied the information together and considered all the possibilities. An important factor was studying in English and getting a second diploma. We decided that this opened up great prospects. We did not consider other universities. My sister Katya and I (we are twins) prepared for the Unified State Exam and admission over the course of four school years.
My sister and I graduated from the Moscow Russian-British school “Algorithm”, where we transferred in the seventh grade, with gold medals. And now we both study in the same bachelor’s degree group at the International Institute of Economics and Finance. Katya is my best friend. By the way, she is also successful in sports, she is a candidate for master of sports in synchronized swimming.
– The school year has started intensively. Which subjects are coming to the forefront in terms of interest?
– All subjects are interesting to me, all of them “caught” my attention. Largely thanks to the teaching staff. It feels like the teachers are professionals in their field, I value them all very much. I would like to separately mention Yaroslav Aleksandrovich Lyulko, who teaches “Probability Theory and Statistics”. It seems to me that this subject opens up the greatest opportunities for me as a student.
The first few days were, of course, a bit difficult, considering how much sport there is in my life. It was also difficult because I was faced with topics that were completely new to me, but with the help of teachers and friends I figured it out and found solutions.
I have the best group (I guess everyone says so?!): cool guys with whom I have many common interests. I already felt that ICEF is one big family, where teachers, classmates, senior students help each other.
Studying in English turned out to be easier than I thought. I have been studying the language intensively since early childhood, and the introductory intensive course in English at the beginning of September also helped me a lot.
– Now about your sports career. Why did you start doing sambo and how do your trainings go?
Initially, I was involved in swimming. My dad played water polo all his life, my sister did synchronized swimming, a pool was always present in our life. And when I got interested in action movies with Jackie Chan at the age of 6-7, I became interested in martial arts. But for some reason I formulated that I wanted to do wrestling, and my dad sent me to the sambo section.
In everyday life, when there are no competitions, I train 4-5 times a week on weekdays. During the preparation period for competitions, I start to increase the pace two months in advance. Specifically, before the Youth World Combat Sambo Championship in Larnaca, I trained two to three times a day for a month, including independent training in the form of jogging.
– You train at the famous Sambo-70 club, and where else?
I train in different clubs. This allows me to quickly acquire different techniques, improve in different directions. My main coach is Honored Coach of Russia Nikolay Anatolyevich Elesin, an absolute authority in the world of MMA and combat sambo. I also train at the “Boxing Progress Center” with Ali Piduriyev, and sometimes I go to wrestling days at the “Club of Professor E.L. Gloriozov”, where I work with coach Denis Igorevich Davydov.
– Were there moments when you wanted to quit sambo?
Yes, it happened several times. At some point, a lot of studying piled up, and in sports there were offensive and annoying defeats. I want to note the enormous support of the whole family, which did not let me do this, for which I am incredibly grateful to them all.
– Do you have any idols in sports?
I don’t really like the word “idol”. As I understand it, this word means to elevate someone to the level of a deity. There are people I look up to and who I like in sports. First of all, this is the legend of Russian sports Fedor Emelianenko, a four-time world champion in combat sambo. I really like the style of work on the mat of the famous sambo wrestler Denis Goltsov. I follow all his performances, try to adopt some of his techniques.
– Out of the one and a half months of your student life, you trained two or three times a day, five days a week. How much time was left for studying? How do you manage to combine such different intensive loads?
Of course, it is very difficult to combine sports and studies. I have to integrate training into my study schedule, so my schedule is always flexible – sometimes I will work out in the morning, sometimes more in the evening. Before tests and quizzes I reduce the number of trainings, and when it comes to studying I sometimes resort to the help of my parents, sister and friends.
The life of a student and an athlete are similar in many ways, because it is a huge amount of independent work that you have to do. To do this, you simply need to master time management: you need to distribute your time literally by the hour in advance, so that you can do everything, and save energy somewhere, and have time to recover.
Every week I create a schedule for the entire week to help me productively combine both studying and training.
Now the loads in sports will decrease. But periods of high intensive load in my life are inevitable. I have to sacrifice my personal life – I manage to meet with friends once a month. This year, due to preparation for the World Championship, I unfortunately missed all the selections for student organizations that I would like to join. I hope I will have time next year.
And for the sake of sporting honor, the IIEF is always ready to participate in competitions.
– Have you ever found yourself in situations where circumstances pushed you to use your athletic skills in life?
There are situations in life when you are provoked or you see that other people are provoked. I am sure that a truly strong person is not the one who knows how to fight and use physical force, but the one who knows how to resolve any issue in a conversation, in a dialogue. I believe that an athlete at such a level has no right to use his professional skills in life.
– The student champion will hardly be able to rest on his laurels. What are your immediate plans?
In sports, it is the Moscow Championship, selection for the Russian Championship, if we manage to win, we will go to the World Championship again. I still have 2 years to compete in juniors. It is very serious preparation before competitions in the senior age group, where I will have to compete with seasoned athletes. In terms of studies, it is midterms, exams. I would like to pass everything well and continue studying.
– Georgy, thank you and further victories in everything!
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.