"DIAMOND" SPARKLES AGAIN

Although karate is one of the world's most popular disciplines, it is not an Olympic sport.  All devotees of this discipline pinned their hopes on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but they were in vain.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) included golf and rugby in the Olympic programme, but did not favour karate.

The IOC decision upset Rafael Agayev too:  The Azerbaijani sportsman was dubbed the "diamond" of karate.  One of the world's best exponents of this martial art, Rafael won the title of world champion again in Serbia.  The four times world champion and nine times European champion shared his joy at victory with R+.

- Please accept our congratulations, Rafael.  Becoming a four-time world champion is not only an honour, but also a very difficult task.  If I am not mistaken, no Azerbaijani has achieved this before in karate?

-  You are right, because it was very difficult to win the WKF style competition.  The championship in Serbia was very tough: my opponents trained particularly hard to fight me.  But their hopes were not to be realised:  luck was on my side.  The toughest fight was in the quarterfinals, where I fought a Japanese athlete.  But towards the end I concentrated and won.  And although I am already a four-time world champion, I am not going to rest on my laurels.

-  So, this is not the end...  But what incentives do you have after so many achievements?

-  Sports favour those who keep working on themselves.  I treasure every victory.  This is why I compete, only to win.  You know, it is difficult to win, but it is even more difficult to defend your title.  More and more sportsmen are striving to prove themselves in competition with title holders at every tournament.  And I want to defend my title of world champion, which is very hard.  So this is my incentive.

-  Some people say that karate is not as popular as other sports.

-  I totally disagree.  Karate is among the most popular disciplines in the world.  The number of sportsmen is growing every year.  New styles are developed.  It is simply that karate is not an Olympic discipline, which makes some people indifferent towards it.

-  In your opinion, what are karate's chances of becoming an Olympic discipline?

-  We pinned our hopes on 2106.  In the latest vote on the inclusion of karate in the Olympic programme, we were only three votes short.  That is why many people sincerely believed that we would take part in the 2016 Summer Olympics.  I think that the financial aspect played an important role here.  Although golf is much less popular at present than karate, it has much greater financial support.  Which is why it was included in the 2016 Olympic schedule.

Now we hope that 2020 will be the year.  Maybe then this important tournament will find room for karate too.

-  Perhaps the reason is the large number of karate styles?

-  There are effectively two factors which negatively influence karate's standing.  First, the probability of injury is high.  On the other hand, there are styles of karate which are not compatible with each another.  Combining them might facilitate admission to the Olympic Games.  But until that happens, the IOC is in a difficult situation too...

-  In 2020, you will be 34 years old.

-  I understand your hint.  Every sportsman dreams about competing in the summer Olympics.  I would love to enjoy success in the Olympic Games, too.  Who knows, perhaps the 34-years-old Rafael Agayev will perform very well once again.  It all depends on the sportsman himself.

-  Yes, by then I will be less agile.  And in some senses, I will not be the same Rafael.  But if I am certain that karate will be included in the 2020 Olympic schedule, I will start special training.  If I stay in shape, why can I not take part?  I would like to win an Olympic gold medal for my country personally.

-  The Russian press often calls you the "diamond of karate."  Why diamond?

-  A few years ago, one popular Russian TV channel produced a documentary about me.  Its title was "The diamond of karate."  From then on, many journalists have used this phrase in their headlines.