Sambo World Championships 2022: Guinea Take On the World

"We worked on the physical side"

Six athletes from different weight categories will take part in the competition. For more than a month, they have been sharpening their skills for this showpiece of world Sambo. The team's coach described the preparation as intense, and said many aspects had been worked on, as he told Sport News Africa. "For 45 days we have been working on different aspects such as technique, endurance, morale and resilience. We worked through different sequences. But we put particular emphasis on the physical side. It's what we call the pyramid," explains Maître Mangué Déka Camara. He went on. "In combat sport, physical strength comes first, then technique. My athletes are in top shape. And at every stage of this training camp we assessed them. With what I'm seeing, I can only be reassured," says the Guinea national sambo team's physical trainer.

"Do better than at the African Championships"

The Guinean Sambo Federation only received its accreditation a few months ago. Even so, Guinean sambo athletes have taken part in numerous international competitions, winning plenty of medals. They hope to ride that wave and put in a respectable showing at the event. Moussa Kéita will compete in the combat sambo category at –64 kilos. He is reassuring: "We are motivated and determined to bring back medals for Guinea", he said straight away. A regular on the continental circuit, he is ambitious.

A silver and bronze medallist at the last African Sambo Championships, he is aiming higher at this tournament. "In the past we won silver and bronze medals. This time we want the gold medal to make the country proud." "My first international competition was in Egypt at the African Championships, where I won a silver medal. Recently in Cameroon, even though I was ill, I won a bronze medal. I will use the experience I have built up in those tournaments to put in a good performance here and try to win a medal for Guinea," promises Moussa Kéita.

Mohamed Lamine Cissé, the "rookie"

Unlike his Guinea sambo team-mate, Mohamed Lamine Cissé competes at -60 kilos. Coming out of an intense training session, the young athlete was upbeat. "Preparations are going well. Every day we train hard to be at our best. Under the supervision of the physical trainer, who teaches us many strategies."

Mohamed Lamine is about to make his international debut. But that is no reason to be discouraged, the young sambo athlete insists. "I have competed on the local scene. But at international level this will be my first competition, so my first experience. It's something that fires me up." As at the last African Sambo Championships, the athletes say they are more motivated than ever to win medals at the tournament. "We want to do better than in our previous appearances," says Moussa Kéita. "I can't wait to discover the competition. I hope to bring back a medal for my country at this World Championships," says Mohamed Lamine Cissé for his part.

Mamadou Gongorè DIALLO