Mariya Stadnik: ‘I would love the national anthem to be played for the 10th time’

"I always have the motivation and will to win. I have had this will since early childhood, and this is endless," Mariya Stadnik told the United World Wrestling official website.

"I would love the national anthem to be played for the 10th time. Ten is a nice number," she said. "I would also like to say that I dedicate this win to my motherland - Ukraine."

"Honestly speaking, this tournament wasn’t much fun for me," the 34-year-old wrestler said after her final. "But the most important is the result. After the [Tokyo] Olympics, I had a little break. I was thinking if I should keep wrestling or retire because of age. I didn’t know if my physical shape would be okay or not. But as you can see I am still wrestling. I started training in January, so I am not in my best shape."

With the exception of a short appearance at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Türkiye last year, Stadnik did not compete after the Tokyo Games. However, she made a comeback in February of this year at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, where she won two matches before withdrawing.

The European Championships was her first top-level competition in a while and there is no denying that age has caught up. Even she agrees with the fact.

"When I was 18 years old, I had more excitement and motivation," she said. "Now it’s all kind of habitual to me, but I still don’t wanna lose."

Stadnik has had her share of heartbreaks as well. She lost two Olympics finals and is still trying to find a way to beat the world and Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan) who has a 4-0 record against her.

"I still have one year to think how to wrestle her. I’ll make it up," she said.

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