Sebastian TEMESI: "I gained invaluable experience for victories in the future"

Australian athlete Sebastian Temesi won a silver medal at the Asia and Oceania Championships in the weight category up to 88 kg in Сombat SAMBO. In the final, he lost to the Uzbek sambist Sohibjon Khasanboev, but the intrigue remained until the last second. The Australian told the FIAS website immediately after the final match what was missing to win.

It was a very spectacular fight. Despite the fact that by the middle of the bout you were losing 7:0, the outcome of the fight could change at any moment. What was missing to win?

– I was confident enough in myself, but something kept me from starting active attacking actions, so the first half of the fight was not in my favor.

From the outside, it seemed that you simply did not have enough experience. In the second part of the fight, you added and were able to reduce the score to 7:4 by making a four-point roll. What prevented you from bringing the fight to a victory?

– I waited too long, warmed up for a long time, now I understand that I should have been more active from the very beginning. I thought that the opponent would advance, so I was careful, but this never happened. Hence the big gap.

Not enough experience?

– Rather, I made a mistake in tactics. The opponent made a bet on the blows, which I easily parried, and in every possible way avoided the wrestling. And I had to act more actively, because in this component I feel especially confident.

The Uzbek athlete turned out to be left-handed. Did it somehow affect the course of the fight?

– I would not say that, it was the wrong choice of tactics that influenced the result.

Nevertheless, today you won the silver medal of the Asia and Oceania SAMBO Championships. Maybe it's not so bad to start with?

– I feel that now I am at the top of my technical and physical capabilities. Today I gained a very useful experience that will give me the opportunity to win in the future.

Why did you choose Combat SAMBO?

– This is largely the merit of the President of the National Federation of Australia, Savely Timofeev, who invited me to take part in SAMBO competitions. Even though I won the Australian Judo Championship, I was not named to the national team for the Commonwealth Games. Therefore, when Savely made such an offer, I accepted it.

But why Combat SAMBO and not Sport SAMBO?

– I love wrestling and I love mixed martial arts. In Combat SAMBO, everything coincided successfully. But the main thing is Savely Timofeev's timely and comfortable offer to compete in SAMBO without any further restrictions. Fortunately, the FIAS policy allows athletes to compete in any kind of sport.

What's next?

– First, participation in the World Beach SAMBO Championships in the Dominican Republic. And of course, I would like to go to the World SAMBO Championships in Armenia if I manage to win the national championship. In Australia, this is a must.