“The Most Important Thing Is to Believe in Yourself”: Daniil Patachyts on Winning the European Championships

Belarusian SAMBO athlete Daniil Patachyts claimed the gold medal at the European SAMBO Championships, held on May 16-17 in Tbilisi. He topped the Sport SAMBO under-98 kg category – a significant milestone in his senior career. The day after his victory, the champion sat down for an interview with the FIAS website – calm, focused, and already thinking about what comes next.

Prepared for a specific opponent

Patachyts and his coach had identified the European Championships as the priority target for the first half of the season and worked towards it with purpose.

“We really wanted to win this together with my coach – and we did,” he said.

The preparation followed his usual framework but with a considerably higher workload. Physical conditioning, technical work, and tactical preparation all went hand in hand – and, as the results showed, that approach paid off.

The toughest bout of the tournament, according to Patachyts, was the semifinal against Russia's Sergei Kuznetsov – draining both physically and emotionally. The team had specifically studied and prepared for this opponent in advance.

“We mainly prepared for him, for his style of wrestling,” Daniil explained. Asked about the secret to beating Kuznetsov, he kept it simple: “Honestly, I don't know myself. Just believe in yourself – that's it.”

The final and the pressure from the stands

The gold medal match brought a different kind of challenge. His opponent, Georgia's Nika Sidamonidze, was competing on home soil, with the crowd firmly behind him. Yet Patachyts experienced that atmosphere not as pressure, but as an extra source of motivation.

“For me it wasn't difficult. If anything, it was the opposite – it made me want to win even more. Of course, the crowd was loud and supporting their athlete. But I could only hear my own team among all that noise – and that gave me more motivation,” Daniil said.

From juniors to seniors

Before claiming European seniors gold, Patachyts had already made his mark: last year he won the European Youth and Junior SAMBO Championships in the junior division, and earlier this season he took victory at the International Tournament in Minsk. The step up to senior competition went smoothly, though the psychological demands, he says, required particular attention.

“The transition was gradual. I didn't really feel a big physical difference. But mentally, you have to be prepared,” Patachyts noted.

Within the national squad, he names Dmitry Khokhlov as his main domestic rival – healthy competition that keeps the standards high.

The path to SAMBO

Patachyts did not start out in SAMBO. He originally trained in judo. The switch happened gradually: in 2020 he began exploring the new discipline, and from 2024 onwards he has competed exclusively in SAMBO.

The biggest technical adjustment was dealing with leg attacks.

“At first it was very unusual – opponents constantly going for your legs, pulling them out from under you. That's the hardest thing to get used to coming from judo,” Daniil admits.

He also explains why athletes with a judo background tend to look confident in SAMBO: “In judo, most of the technical action happens in the stand-up. In SAMBO, there's more emphasis on groundwork and leg attacks. Combining both schools correctly makes you a complete wrestler.”

The anthem and the flag

One moment in the conversation stood apart from the rest – the medal ceremony, and hearing the Belarusian national anthem played in his honour for the first time at a senior European Championships.

“I really wanted to hear the anthem. It's such an incredible feeling – when you hear your own anthem and put your hand on your heart. An unbelievable experience,” Daniil said.

Goals and life off the mat

Alongside his sporting career, Patachyts is also studying at university. Free time is scarce: training, sleep, music. Before bouts, he keeps his mind clear – preferring to walk around the warm-up area and focus quietly rather than overthink things.

His immediate sporting goal is straightforward: “I need to win the World SAMBO Championships. Ideally to make it this year.”

His advice to young athletes just starting out in SAMBO is equally grounded: “The most important thing is to believe in yourself. Without that, nothing will come of it.”