“Erfan Ahangarian” One of the wushu stars of Iran and the world and the gold holder of the Jakarta Asian Games said in an interview with IRNA on Monday: “Two stages of the national wushu team camp were held and we went through good training so that the people could reach the desired level of preparation.” The next camp will start on March 2, during which selection competitions will be held to keep the top 2 people in each weight in the camp.
He added: “During the two years that everything was closed due to Corona, I continued my training in my hometown and most of my goal was to stay physically fit. In the two national team camps, we did good technical training and now I am ready to face my opponents in the selection of the national wushu team.
The world wushu champion explained about the presence of new people in the national team camp: “We have motivated people in the camp who can have a good future.” For example, “Shoja Panahi” has the potential to become a reliable player for the national team in the coming years. This was not the case in the past, but now we have motivated and good young people whose presence makes us happy.
Asked at what weight he will compete in the Hangzhou Asian Games, he said: “If I am selected, I will fight in the 65 kg weight category.” The Asian Games Wushu Tournament lasts five days, with weightlifting every morning. If it was weightlifting once, I could fight at 60 kg.
Regarding holding the Asian Games in China and the difficulties of facing the country’s wushu players, who are Iran’s main rivals, Ahangarian said: “I look to myself to be better than last year.” I have made a lot of progress since I came to Wushu in 2014 because my focus is on myself and I do not care what opponent I fight.
The world champion said: “China is a great power in world wushu and they have strong Sandakars, but I have always won against them and this time I hope to represent China in my weight because I would like to win the best medal by beating the Chinese and struggling.”
Regarding his fighting style and the fact that Sandakar is said to be cold-blooded, he said: “It is impossible for an athlete not to have stress to fight.” Mental imagery is very important to me, and every time I analyze the opponent’s fight video, I assess all the conditions so that I do not face any problems during the fight. I want to enjoy the race and finally win in the best way.
Regarding his participation in the Brazilian Martial Arts Professional Camp and the possibility of competing in MMA (Combined Martial Arts), Ahangarian said: “I was going to participate in professional competitions because there has been no competition for 2 years by the World Federation.” The closest discipline to wushu is MMA, which also has a very good income, and many of our wushu champions competed in it.
He added: “I had some suggestions and I was invited to a camp in Brazil by a friend and I trained with three martial arts champions of this country so that they would be ready to participate in the competitions.” They really wanted me to be a member of their team and take part in the struggles, but there was very little time until the start of the national team camps and I returned to Iran. My plan is to participate in professional competitions after the Asian Games.