I AM PREPARING FOR VICTORY

When I talked to Garnik Babakyokhvyan, a soldier of the National Army, he was at the border, in positions. Garnik is an athlete, three-time Armenian champion in power triathlon, European champion, world champion.

Garnik took part in the last war, when he was only a soldier for 2 months …

And he miraculously survived. The countless shells exploding next to him did not hit him with a happy coincidence, the bullets crawling near his ear fortunately bypassed the soldier’s body.

He saw with his own eyes what many of us could not even imagine.

… And now he is in position, defending the homeland with a weapon in his hands.

– Of course, I am sure that we can finally change the balance of power in our favor …

– There is a task that you have to do without calculating the forces and opportunities. If you start counting, you will lose. When you jump into the battle with the determination to win, new opportunities are born, inner forces awaken, the path to which is rooted in courage, dedication, self-confidence, the ability to sacrifice everything for the sake of victory. Fear has no place there at all. I have more than once defeated an opponent stronger than me. Strong, in the opinion of others, outwardly strong … But who can calculate our inner strength, compare our inner abilities to win, will, determination, courage? Everything is called a spirit.

I also know what defeat is. There was a time when I was constantly losing on the mat. I started with a defeat, I have not won a single battle for a long time. I was small in body …

– Now you are very strong and muscular.

– But at that time I was small and I had to work hard to achieve victory, four times, ten times as much. I really wanted to win, I wanted to be the best. The limits of human capabilities are very wide, the problem is the desire and what sacrifices you are ready for the purpose. I won the Moscow championship for the first time. I was wrestling at the time.

– What did you do in Moscow?

– My father worked in Russia, I started my sports career in Russia. My opponent was Russian, he was obviously physically stronger than me. I defeated him in spirit, I fought relentlessly for victory, selflessly. I tried so hard that at the age of 12 I was offered a place in the senior group, where the youngest was 16 years old.

… As for the war, I have not lost it. I have no sense of defeat, because I, my friends, our army fought against one in ten, we destroyed enormous forces of the enemy, we did not retreat before the multiple forces of the enemy. Yes, we have lost land, and what I say sounds a little ridiculous, but now that I am on the border, in the face of the enemy, I feel strong and victorious. I know the Azerbaijani soldier well. I defeated him in the war. By and large, I won. Azerbaijanis also know that.

– You practiced wrestling from the beginning, you were successful, why did you start wrestling?

– I have practiced different sports: gymnastics, athletics, wrestling, triathlon. I have loved sports since I was a child, competition is my element, or rather, winning is my element. If you beat your opponent in wrestling, then in triathlon you have to compete with yourself, you have to beat yourself. This is a unique victory, when you overcome your weaknesses, your fears, your limitations of human capabilities … You are alone with yourself, you are your opponent. With each victory, it is as if you are reborn, and a new height, a new horizon opens before you. You conquer inch by inch, you climb a mountain whose peak is not visible, but you want to climb as high as possible.

– How far have you gone?

– I am a three-time champion of Armenia. I trained at the Torq Angegh Sports and Cultural Center and I was proud to hold the honor of our school high. But for the first time I realized what pride is, when I became a European champion and the anthem of Armenia was played in my honor, the flag of Armenia was hoisted above all. It was an unspeakably strong and uplifting feeling. After that, I had a strong desire to relive that feeling again and again. For the first time I felt the connection between me and the homeland, I felt the homeland in me, I saw that I was completely absorbed in it.

– How many times was that feeling repeated?

– I am a world champion in power triathlon. I have had a lot of success in sports, I do not want to count them one by one, but the World Cup was a different feeling, when you want to be the first on the planet, you want to prove that you are the best. We were greeted by more than 500 people at the Armenian airport. I realized I lived for that day. I realized that the desire to make oneself significant is such a small stimulus compared to the desire to glorify the Homeland.

– We came to the war part …

– I was a soldier for two months when the war started. We got a weapon and drove to the positions. On the way we came under fire. We had to get out of the car and hide until the fire subsided and we could move. Now, as I tell it, my body trembles, but at that time there was no feeling. There was emptiness in my head and heart. The drones appeared at dawn and fired from above until dark. We were about 170 people աin a long trench. We had to walk three kilometers to remove the wounded and victims from the battlefield, but the car could not reach the position. When you walk in the arms of your lifeless comrade-in-arms, in front of your eyes, the ground being torn apart by bombs, and above you, the enemy drones, all the patterns of life change. … Then we dug trenches with knives to protect ourselves from enemy drones. We ate, whatever happened, we resisted the thirst … When the road opened, we walked 3 kilometers to bring water and bread to the army. … Now the position is furnished, we have food, water and weapons. And I have a kind of sense of obligation. Debt to the boys who were deprived of basic comfort and vital needs, but fought and did not leave the position.

– Tell me, the drones were hitting, how did you fight against the drones?

– They were thinning our ranks with drones, they were trying to suppress our spirit, so that later the rear would come and throw with us, take the position. In other words, we fought against the snipers, the rear. We shot at each other with machine guns, killed and were killed.

– When did we retreat?

– The enemy was many times more. Many. We were surrounded on all sides, we were literally surrounded, there was only one way left. If it were closed, we would all die. When the order to retreat was given, I realized that there was hope of salvation, hope of life. I thought I should be happy, but my heart was pounding with pain. It was a feeling to leave your loved one defenseless and leave. Pain, guilt, despair … We walked 62 kilometers for two days … Then we got a task to organize the protection of Paravatumb, Khndzristan villages …

… Usually, seven people were gave one bag, when four people got one bag, I realized that this time the task will be difficult.

– What bag?

– It was mainly food. We left at night and arrived in the morning. Our special group of four  people had to lie in wait on the outskirts of Shushi at the mouth of the gorge and not allow the enemy to enter Shushi.

We left Shushi only when there was no hope of saving the situation. Hiding in the dark, crawling, rolling, we went up and down five mountains …

– What are your plans for the future after demobilization? It was written in your biography that you are studying in the faculty of psychology.

– After each defeat I am preparing for victory. This has been the case since the age of seven. I am preparing for victory …

By GAYANE POGHOSYAN