The president of the Boxing Federation of Armenia, Artur Gevorgyan summed up the passing year and spoke about the plans of 2016 in a conversation with ANOC.

-Mr Gevorgyan, please, sum up 2015 as a president of the Boxing Federation of Armenia.

-In General, it was a good year for boxing. I see things globally. As we have initially focused on the youth boxing development, today we see its results. The young and junior boxers show perfect results. No tournament of these age groups has passed without medals. They are our future and the boxers who are going to join our adult team and conquer medals. As for the adults team, we have what we have. We’ve tried to get the best and there are some interesting boxers among them.

-You end the year without Olympic qualifications. Being realistic, how many qualifications do you hope to obtain?

-We can’t say that the year was unsuccessful only because Armenian boxers failed to win qualifications and as many have said the most important task of 2015 remained unfulfilled. For me the main task is not to conquer an Olympic qualification but an Olympic medal. I don’t want a random boxer to obtain a qualification by chance and then waste it without winning a medal. This year we had only one opportunity of getting a qualification and we saw, that Hovhannes Bachkov was very close to it. I think in 2016 will show himself. Moreover, there are 4-5 boxers who are able to show their potential.

-The qualifier will be held in Baku and Istanbul. Don’t you think it further complicates the work of Armenian boxers?

-Yes, we face a big problem. We have a chance to come out in Baku but the present political situation and the tension on the border give serious reasons for reflection. The participation in Baku is severely compromised. We lay emphasis especially on Istanbul. I think we’ll return from Istanbul with qualifications. Anush Grigoryan will also come out in Istanbul, she is a winner of the World and European Youth Championships. It’s possible she will register good results there.

-Why has the team’s head coach been changed 7 months before the Olympics?

-Davit Torosyan gave much to our team but at the same time the atmosphere in the team is very important for me. Let’s not forget that the team, the coaching board and the federation are comprised of coaches of different age groups and we should create a quiet atmosphere for effective work. As a federation president I highly appreciate Davit Torosyan’s professional skills. But his relationships with the other coaches, the clubs’ managements were getting tenser and tenser. I don’t want the personal relationships to interfere with the team’s progress.

-Will the Armenian Championship be held before the qualifying tournaments?

-No, it won’t. We won’t be able physically. If we manage we will join in one, even two tournaments before the qualifiers. The team will be divided into two parts.  Two boxers of same weight class will take part in different tournaments. And we’ll take our future decisions based on these results.

-The Boxing Federation of Armenia has accepted a new order for qualification of coaches; according to it all the coaches should get a qualification of the federation. In your opinion how long will it take to the innovation to give a desired result?

-The critical moment for such a decision had come. We had to take an urgent decision and I think that all sports should adopt this policy. In this way we help our coaches to get more qualified and conformed to the requirements of time. We will invite specialists from AIBA (International Boxing Association), organize seminars and only then coaches will take the test. The coach who won’t be qualified by the federation won’t be entitled to represent an athlete in the Armenian Championship.

-Mr. Gevorgyan, is it possible for Armenia to have a professional boxing club in the near future?

-We are working in that direction. There are people who have offers and are interested in it. They are not citizens of Armenia but Armenians living abroad. Maybe, it will be possible to open such a club in their own means. I have told them the conditions and approaches. I don’t care about the name of the club, the most important is to have it, to give chance to Armenian boxers to sign a contract with the club and to come out of it. I wish us to manage our guys’ future.

ANOC press office