Narek Abgaryan (52 kg) is one of the four members of Armenian boxing team for Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
This time, Mediamax Sport introduces Narek Abgaryan to you.
- Narek, why did you choose boxing?
- My father and uncle were boxers. This sport was always a subject of discussions in my home. My brother went to train too, and I joined him some time later.
- What did boxing give you?
- First, it educated me, made me the person I am. In addition, I served in sport troops and I’m getting free education now thanks to sport achievements. I’m grateful to my sport, for making me who I am.
- Let’s talk about the Olympic Games. You won a quota this April in Turkey, when intensive clashes were taking place in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic).
- We were in Yerevan when Azerbaijan attacked. We were told we wouldn’t go to Turkey. We were very tense, because we trained very hard, we all had dreams… However, it was decided in the end that we would go, and we were happy about that.
- What mood was the team in?
- Armenian soldiers and civilians were dying… It was hard. I affected us a lot, angered us. We felt like we were going to war. We had a task at hand we had to fulfill at any cost.
Photo: Mediamax
- Competition won’t be easy in Rio. How do you think you’ll perform there?
- I realized during the qualifying tournaments that you should have faith and fight till the end. The same is true for the Olympic Games, - you have to get in the right mood, fight till the end and reach your goal.
-What do you imagine when you hear “Brazil”?
- Football and carnival. I always dreamed to take part in these celebrations, when everything’s bright and colourful… I think it’d be really entertaining.
- What costume would you wear?
- Batman (laughs - edit.)
- How many Olympiads took place in South America?
- Let me think. My guess is none (Brazil is the first South-American country to host the Olympic Games - edit.).
Photo: Mediamax
- Is there a sportsman you’d like to meet in Rio?
- I’d like to see boxer Manny Pacquiao.
- When was the last time you went to theatre?
- Probably a year ago. It was a play about young people of Armenia and Diaspora, about how we live and what we have in common, how we should communicate with each other.
- Your favourite place in Armenia.
-Vorotan village in Sisian. It’s a wonderful place, rich with healing waters. I advise everyone to go there.
Photo: Mediamax
- I give you halves of sentences, and you finish them.
- Wars should stop because…
- there’s love in life.
- Armenian sport world will remember me as…
- a talented boxer.
- “Participation itself in the Olympic Games is a victory” expression is…
- not for me.
Gohar Nalbandyan talked to Narek Abgaryan
Photos by Emin Aristakesyan
The partner of the project 
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