“It Was a Great Honor for Me”

“It was a great honor for me to represent my people, my republic at a competition of such a level,” the Kalmyk wrestler Saikhan Imeev especially noted in a conversation with us; he recently returned from Ulaanbaatar, where he took part in the Mongolian Naadam. Recall that Saikhan is one of the winners of the tournament in national sports “Erin һurvn naadn” held at the end of May.

The day before, the athlete and the president of the Kalmykia National Wrestling Federation, Gennady Levinov, met with the senior administrator of the Central Khurul, Yonten-Gelung. They shared their impressions of the trip and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to take part in this kind of competition: “For us this is the acquisition of the richest experience, a chance to show ourselves, our Kalmyk school of wrestling, and to feel the spiritual power of the Mongolian world.”

“Naadam” is a traditional annual festival of the Mongols, which is held in a very spectacular manner. In wrestling alone this year 1,024 athletes took part. It is worth noting that the bouts are not limited in time, there are no weight categories, the one who first touches the ground is considered defeated, and each wrestler has his own judge. It is also very interesting to watch how a wrestler performs the ritual dance of the eagle before each bout.

In turn, the senior administrator of the Central Khurul, Yonten-Gelung, thanked both Gennady Aleksandrovich and Saikhan for having worthily represented our Kalmykia at the international level, while also establishing good, friendly relations with the sports world of Mongolia: “A good beginning has been made. Now we will annually send the winners of our tournament ‘Erin hurvn naadn’ to the Mongolian ‘Naadam.’ It is important that such events give a new impetus to the further development of national sports.”