Talk to I am Sherazadishvili it is to do it with someone with their head in the right place and very clear ideas. The Spanish judoka of Georgian origin suffered a severe setback by staying out of the fight for the medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympicsbut he has already turned the page and only thinks of redeeming himself in paris 2024.
The two-time world champion spoke with 20Minutos and showed that it is clear that the formula for success is to train hard and have a cool head. Two things that he works on so as not to make mistakes from the past and achieve the personal achievement that he would have liked so much to give to his people in Japan, but that capricious destiny decided that he had to wait until the French Olympics.
It’s been a long time since the bad experience of Tokyo 2020. How are you feeling?
I’m fine. The Olympic cycle will start soon and my head is already thinking about all the mistakes I made in the past, whether it was at the Olympics, at the World Championships or at the European Championships. I’m trying to learn from it and be much more motivated than I have been so far. I am very excited to start with the Olympic qualification.
It seems that there is no time for regrets, right?
Everything has happened very quickly. We have to be thinking about the future and the goals we have this year, the next and the next one, which is Paris.
“Pressure does a lot when you’re number one that long.”- Niko Sherazadishvili
How does an elite athlete overcome the potholes that occur throughout his career?
It is very hard. You have to be very strong in the head and endure daily training. We have motivations such as the Olympic Games, we know that three years go by very quickly, but every day is very hard and having that mentality of always doing your best… You have to have things very clear and go from competition to competition.
But there are also external agents that weigh.
Yes, the pressure is added and that does a lot when you are so long a number. It also affects and you have to be regulating all that.
That pressure is magnified when someone is number one. Are you afraid of failure when you are so high?
It is a bit of everything. It may be that in one competition you feel better and in another you feel more pressure. It’s hard. You have to have things clear to manage everything well. If you are number one it is because of the competitions you have won. You should focus on that and stop thinking about the rest, if you are number one, if your relatives are seeing you…
I imagine that the support of those around you is also very important.
That’s it. I compete alone but I always say that I am always accompanied by the people around me, my coach, my sponsors who help me to be able to participate in those competitions, to travel, to attract people. Judo is an individual sport but you cannot train by yourself. You need 15, 20, 30 people… The more people you have to train with, the better.
For his teammates, training with a super elite has to be an ordeal.
It’s hard for them and for me because now I have people of my level and I think they are delighted. Besides, they can catch them, but I also fall because we are not always at 200%. I have very strong people by my side. Otherwise I couldn’t be competing at this level. My colleagues are delighted. They help me a lot and I try to help them. What matters is that we both win.
“In judo you have to be very strong in the head and endure daily training.”- Niko Sherazadishvili
This reminds me of how well you were wrapped up after what happened in Tokyo. How important was it to feel supported at that time?
The truth is that I punished myself for that competition, but I felt great support from the people, from the media, from everyone in Spain and in Georgia, in my two countries. Feeling that support is a great motivation. I am very hard on myself and seeing that people are still by my side, who have also had a hard time seeing me, makes you feel great support.
Now that you mention your two countries. Do you have to train harder when you carry so many people behind your back?
Yes, but you also have to have things very clear to focus on yourself during a competition. The rest is plenty. It affects when it comes to competing and, in combat, you have to try not to think about the people around you.
What lies ahead until the 2024 Paris Olympics?
This year I am going to try to compete more than usual because I have to go up in the ranking when I start in a new category. I need to adapt and gain weight. Clean weight and muscle, not as we normally understand it, otherwise it would take very little. And in June the classification for the Games begins, so you have to be prepared.
