A new Kazakhstan champion in the category up to 60 kg, Nazym Ishchanova aged 18 shared her impressions of the victory in the Astana tournament in an interview to the KFB website and told us about how she came to boxing.

- Words can't express what I feel about this victory at the championship in Kazakhstan, - says Nazym. I think that this success is not only mine, but also of my coaches, who have been working with me for a long time, the success of the Boxing Federation of the Atyrau region, of the regional Sports Department, of all those who have supported me.

- How difficult was the final fight for you?

- Speaking about the decisive battle I cannot say that it turned out to be difficult for me, because I had won this opponent in the tournament of the strongest among juniors. I wanted to represent my region with dignity in the prestigious tournament, I did my best to win.

- Did you feel nervous?

- Of course I worried, but before the championship of Kazakhstan I had taken an extensive training so I was confident. Thank God, I accomplished the task.

- Senior coach Vadim Prisyazhnyuk noted that the three Olympic weights will be given special attention. Among them is the weight category up to 60 kilograms. Can we say that the victory at the Kazakhstan championship will allow you to compete at the World Cup in Astana?

- Yes, the national championship was a key selection step to the international competitions. My future plan is to compete in the license tournament in China and in the World Cup.

- This was probably your first victory in the adult boxing, wasn’t it?

- No. Earlier in 2015 I won the tournament of the strongest boxers. Also I have a medal from the international tournament dedicated to the memory of Manshuk Mametova, Aliya Moldagulova and Khiuaz Dospanova. But this is my first victory at the national championship.

- Tell me how you came into the sport. Why did you choose boxing?

- One of the main reasons is my father Beibit Ishchanov who as a boxing trainer first prepared only boys. Before that he had trained a lot of boxers who became winners of the Asian and World championships. Some guys were leaving boxing for different reasons and it seriously saddened my father. In the evenings father not once lamented the fact that some of the boxers didn't reach their goals. After all, he also wanted, as any coach, his learner to be able to climb the podium at the major competitions such as the Olympic Games or the World Cup.

In 2012, Kazakhstan female athletes Saida Khasenova and Marina Volnova competed at the Olympics. To be honest, then I learned about the existence of women's boxing for the first time. All what I saw inspired me and I thought to myself, "Why not try yourself?". It is a great honor to represent your country at the international arena and at the same time I wanted to realize the dream of my father. I want to be the same as our heroes Serik Sapiyev, Gennadiy Golovkin, Yermakhan Ibraimov, Ilya Ilyin and others. I want to make the world talk about Kazakhstani sports.

- Do you remember your first training session?

- Yes, for me it was a real challenge. I wasn't fond of sports before. I studied in Uralsk at the Kazakh boarding school for gifted children named after Saken Seifullin. I graduated from music school named after Dina Nurpeisova. I took the courses of dombra and choreography. So if not taking into account the lessons of physical education at school, I wasn't really interested in sports.

- How old were you at that time?

- I was 15 years old. It was after the Olympic Games in London. It was summer so it was really hard to jog in hot weather. But my father did not stop motivating me, saying that he believed in me and I was able to fight until the end. But mom was against my boxing trainings. I can understand her because few parents consider boxing to be apt for their daughters.

- How did your school teachers react to the fact that you decided to choose boxing?

-Actually nobody knew about my leaving the boarding school but the director. I needed money to take part in the youth tournament, which was the first in my career. And I could get such possibility only from sports boarding school, so I had to change the school in a day. I still remember that day. It was December 5, Friday. I told my father that I wanted to do boxing and I made the decision so that's why I was going to change school. And then I asked him to talk to the director.  It was not easy, because I previously passed three exams to get into Uralsk Kazakh boarding school for gifted children. I studied chemistry and biology and thought of becoming a surgeon.

- You said you had been studying music for a long time and it means that you feel the rhythm. Does it help you in the ring?

- Yes, it somehow helps me in the battle. As we know there is such a rule in boxing - to punch, then to punch softer, and then to make the third accentuated punch. It’s like a rhythm. Like a musical symphony. Everything is also based on feelings, it’s like you play the dombra.

Erbol Kairov