Due to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, his country of origin, French wrestler Gagik Snjoyan gave up going to Baku to compete in the qualifications for the Olympic Games and said goodbye to his “Olympic dream”, the decision “the most difficult of (his) career”, he explains to AFP.
Initially selected for this qualifying tournament as French No.1 in his 67 kg category, Snjoyan was nevertheless ready to defend his chances in Azerbaijan. But his family’s concerns for his safety made him change his mind. “Any Armenian who enters Azerbaijani territory risks not returning. It’s not me who says it, it’s life which shows it, described the 22-year-old fighter during an interview carried out the day before the competition on Friday. Honestly, it’s understandable. If you’ve been following the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan lately, it’s really complicated. No Armenian goes to Azerbaijan and vice versa.”
Territorial disputes have pitted the two neighboring countries in the Caucasus for several decades in a conflict resulting from the dislocation of the Soviet Union. In September 2023, during a lightning offensive, Azerbaijani troops recaptured the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an enclave located in Azerbaijan, from Armenian separatists, and the situation remains unstable today.
Despite reinforced security measures proposed by the French Federation, he decided to give up on the tournament, the decision “the most difficult of (his) career”. “I have never been faced with this kind of situation. In my head, situations like that don’t happen to me, they happen to others. And when it happens to us, frankly it’s not easy to manage. On one side we have the family, and on the other side, we have our dream, all our sweat that has flowed for decades.
Born in Yerevan in 2001, it was in his native country that Snjoyan took his first steps in Greco-Roman wrestling, before landing in France at the end of 2013, where his family applied for asylum. “In Armenia, there are three or four wrestling halls in each city, a bit like football fields in France. It’s the sport that my father did, that my whole family did, my uncles and my cousins… I was immersed in it in fact, it was sure, it was my destiny,” he explains. But Snjoyan especially regrets that the International Federation decided to organize this TQO in Azerbaijan. “This is unacceptable, we cannot do this. The tournament had to be held in a peaceful country. The biggest problem comes from there.”
By renouncing this qualifying competition for the Paris Games, Gagik Snjoyan therefore left his place to French No.2 Mamadassa Sylla. A heartbreak for someone who had already been unable to defend his chances at the 2023 World Championships due to a shoulder injury. “It’s been two times in a row that, due to bad luck, I haven’t been able to participate.”
In Baku, his replacement Mamadassa Sylla was able to take advantage of this twist of fate. By reaching the final of the TQO, the 30-year-old fighter earned his Olympic ticket, blocking the way for Snjoyan. “I didn’t even have the right to show what I was capable of,” he regretted.
