Mr. Saken Polatov – The impressions and the emotions of the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships were positive

Mr. Saken Polatov is the Vice-President of the Asian Boxing Confederation, the Vice-President of the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee and the First Senior Vice-President of the Uzbekistan Boxing Federation.

Mr. Saken Polatov followed all of the bouts of the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships and not only the performance of the Uzbek boxers but he watched the athletes of the other nations. Following all of the arrangements of the event, the Uzbek boxing official shared his thoughts and opinions about the event, which took place in Tashkent.

How was the feeling to host the first ever ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships in Tashkent?

The impressions and emotions are positive. The most important thing that we managed it in these difficult conditions, associated with various restrictions and prohibitions. We were organize the real boxing holiday, gave lot of bright and unforgettable impressions to the Asian boxing fans and to all participants, but the most importantly, to have a chance for the young boxers to acquire great competitive experience. Of course, it is a pity, that many teams could not manage to take part in this wonderful tournament, but we had many positive experiences, and all of the girls and boys impressed us in Tashkent.

Were you satisfied with your team’s work at the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships?

We had a lot of serious preparation and organizational work, which have been done successfully. It was a real teamwork and fruitful tasks, clear interaction between all divisions of our Federation, the National Olympic Committee, and the Ministry of Sports in Uzbekistan. We all worked together as one mechanism, and I think that the results and the benefits also speaks about it.

Of course, I am not only satisfied with the work what we have done, but I am also proud of the result what we achieved during the event. I would like to take this opportunity, and to express my gratitude to my colleagues from the local organizing committee, and all the staff of the Boxing Federation. I want to thank Mr. Youssef Ali Al Kazim, Mr. Ali Takleef, and to all my foreign friends from the Asian Boxing Family and of course to IBA President Mr. Umar Kremlev, who came to Tashkent and personally supported all of us. 

Furthermore, of course, a special thanks to ASBC President Mr. Anas Alotaiba and all members of the friendly ASBC team, which is leading by Mr. Ali Salameh for the intensive and professional work done during the preparatory period and during the Championship.

Tashkent will host the IBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championship in 2023. Shall we consider the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships as a test competition? What will it mean for you to host the IBA World Championship at home?

Of course, as you understand, the level of such events is not comparable – neither in terms of the number of participants, nor in terms of significance. I must say, that the preparation and holding of the U22 Asian Championship gave a good opportunity to acquire additional organizational experience, practical knowledge, and many other important points that may be in demand in the very near future.

The holding of the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championship will not only give a huge impetus to increasing interest in boxing, but will serve as a serious driver for the further development of the sports movement in the country, especially among young people.

Our main goal and task is to hold the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championships at the highest level in all respects, so, it must be marked in boxing history as one of the most professionally organized competitions.

Here I can add that we are very serious about preparing for this event very detailed, thorough, with modern approaches and solutions. For example, we are planning to hold a major boxing tournament called the Sidney Jackson Memorial this year. We want to do as a test event before the World Boxing Championship, with the development of the entire range of organizational issues, which will apply in 2023.

What are the key strategies of the Uzbek Boxing Federation in 2022?

A comprehensive analysis of the latest performance of our boxers at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (Japan) and the World Championships in Belgrade (Serbia) in 2021 showed that we need adjustments in various aspects of our work. Of course, the following points will remain basic in the work of our Federation for this year: the selection and training of athletes, the qualitative improvement of coaching and judging, the further development of the boxing infrastructure of our country, and of course the issues of the medical and anti-doping policy.

The main competition this year for us will be the Asian Games, which will be held in September. We will send a significantly renewed team of our Federation to the Asian Games according to our plans. We plan to perform with full squads at the ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Amman this March. The women’s national team will take part in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship, which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on May.

We all know that you have put forward your candidacy for the post of ASBC President. What are your main plans to change the continent’s boxing life?

Now, already we have developed mid-term and long-term programs for the development of continental boxing, covering all the most important areas of ASBC activities.

Very soon, I will present it to our Asian boxing family for study, so I would not like to detail it now. In my program, I have outlined the main aspects and key points of the necessary work – but, undoubtedly, our main and main priority will be the interests of Asian boxers and significant material and intellectual assistance to the National Federations.

Together with my team, I want to restore the greatness of Asian boxing and together with all those who care about continental boxing, take ASBC to new heights and make significant progress for the benefit of the boxers.

Don’t forget you can keep up with all of the action, news, results and photos by following ASBC on Facebook and Instagram.
ASBC website: www.asbcnews.org
ASBC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ASBC.Official/
ASBC Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/asbc_official/
ASBC Twitter page: https://www.twitter.com/BoxingAsian?s=0