Source link : https://london-news.net/olympic-champion-ramazanov-on-his-shift-to-bulgarian-citizenship-a-personal-journey/
The Bulgarian freestyle wrestler and Olympic champion of 2024, Magomed Ramazanov, shared his reasons for switching his sports citizenship. In January 2022, he transitioned from Russia to Bulgaria.
**“How was the decision to change your citizenship made? When did you realize you needed to switch sports citizenship?”**
“I was 24 years old and considering retiring from my career when my coach, Vadim Alekseevich Biyazy, took an interest in me. He wanted me to make the switch at that time. I was relatively unknown on the international scene, and few wanted to take me on. As I started to achieve results in Russia, it became increasingly difficult. I was performing well here, and it was hard to walk away due to the demand for my skills.
Before the Tokyo Games, I never considered changing my citizenship. My coach took the lead in this process and managed everything from start to finish. It was challenging along the way. Initially, we had chosen another country, but they turned out to be unreliable. They made promises that didn’t materialize. Eventually, we found success with Bulgaria, where I had some connections; my brother was also competing there by that time (Ramazan Ramazanov).
I made the transition at 30 years of age. The competition in my sport is intense. Did I really create any issues for the national team at that age? Few athletes continue to compete in Russia at that stage; there are already others ready to take their place.
I primarily did this for myself and…
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Author : rimmaruslan98@gmail.com
Publish date : 2025-05-26 10:37:00
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