ZARETSKA Iryna

General
UKRAINE TO AZERBAIJAN
Born in Ukraine, she originally represented the nation in karate, including at the 2014 World Championships in Bremen, Germany. In 2015 she began competing for Azerbaijan. "At first, sometimes there was a feeling that I was not always accepted here as a native. But thanks to the results that I am showing today, people in Azerbaijan love me very much, support and believe in me. In Azerbaijan, I can fully devote myself to the sport." (moscow-baku.ru, 17 Feb 2020)

EARLY YEARS
She says that she has had a fighting spirit from early childhood. "My brother and my parents told me that since childhood I was very combative and fearless. I was really not afraid of anything, so during training sessions and bouts I did not receive any serious injuries or serious blows to the head. I still remember the competitions that took place in my first few years in karate. There were no girls in my age category, so I fought with the boys. I really remembered the moment when at one of those tournaments I took first place, stood on the podium and smiled, and on the right and left there were boys who cried because they lost to the girl." (dumskaya.net, 30 Mar 2017)