He was speechless after today’s bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and the ORF interview with Austria’s judoka Shamil Borchashvili was accordingly emotional.
The athlete from LZ Multikraft Welt thanked his younger brother Wachid in the first place. He was the only one of the three brothers who did not attend the Olympia. The older brother Kimran went to Tokyo as a sparring partner.
But Wachid, who is himself the European Open winner (Oberwart 2020), also provided his brother with tips. “He pushed me so much, he gave me tips, he believed in me, thank you Wachid,” said the newly crowned bronze medalist from Wels, who also thanked his older brother Kimran (below). Then he thanked everyone from the governor to the judo president.
Praise for Bonisch
He also found fine words for the German trainer of the Austrian national team, Yvonne Bönisch (in the picture above). “In the morning while warming up, she said to me: ‘Shamil you are not one of the favorites, you have no pressure, enjoy the day’, that helped me so much,” said the Welser, still in tears.
In the end he said to ORF reporter Caroline Pflanzl, who had a memorable interview, “You ask me so many questions, but I’m just speechless, I don’t know, I can’t find any more words,” said the hero of the day from Austria View.