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The
Amateur Wrestler sits down with 1999 World and 2000 Olympic Wrestling
Champion, Daniel Igali.
Q:
Now that you've shown that you can beat the best in the world
who will be your toughest competition at the Olympics?
 A:
My weight class is a very tough weight class. I have yet to wrestle
against the three time world champion, Kervokian from Armenia,
Kavilokian (spelling) from iran, Sanli, the World bronze medallist
from Turkey, and I lost to the silver medalist in 1998, Zazirov
from Ukraine. So as you can see, I have a full plate. All I can
do is keep to my training program, and not worry about any particular
person. It is a wide open weight class that can be won by six
people on any given day. I am praying that I am the one to win
it, come the Olympics.
Q:
What is your favourite leg attack? Favourite turn?
A: My favorite leg attack
is the outside single and my favorite turn is the cross lift.
Q:
What
advice do you have for young wrestlers?
A: I would advise young wrestlers
to keep to their dreams and give their best to wrestling in practices
and in tournaments. Remember that you will learn as much from
losing as you will from winning. The only thing you miss out when
you're your are not training hard are your dream and trouble.
Q:
Do you see yourself as
a role model?
A: To a certain degree I do.
I try to do the best I can in my private life as well as on the
mat as I have come to realize that following the worlds, there
has been a lot of coverage. I realize that what I do now will
not only affect me, but the image of wrestling. I may not be perfect,
but I'm trying to represent the sport and youth as much as I can.
Q:
How has wrestling prepared
you for life?
 A:
Wrestling has prepared me to handle anything that may come my
way. I have come to understand that there is nothing harder than
wrestling. The dedication and discipline I have gotten from waking
up at 6:30 everyday to train, in addition to school, and 2-3 three
intense hours of scrambling on the mat in the evenings have prepared
me for anything that comes my way.
Q:
Finally, if there was
one thing you could change about wrestling, what would it be?
A: Because of the hard work
we put in to the sport, I would like to see wrestling have a higher
profile as some others sports do. I would also be nice if we made
more money to help for all our efforts.
Thanks
for having me for this chat. To everybody, take care of yourselves
and keep sweating!
Daniel
(Dynamite) Igali
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