Alexander Gabler Talks Judo, Bundesliga, and Olympic Dreams with RGA Sports

Remscheid. The season started successfully with an 8:6 win in Walheim. Alexander Gabler was there as captain of the RTV judo team at the Bundesliga fight and yet wasn’t there. A contradiction? The 25-year-old explained this in the RGA Sports video podcast “Final Whistle”. He also explained why the coming weeks are very important for him personally from a sporting perspective. We have summarized his most important statements.

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Alexander Gabler on the significance of the opening victory. . .

. . . It was very positive that we started off with success. That was important for the entire team. Especially with regard to the goal of the German championship. However, the result was closer than we expected.

Gabler about the reason why he couldn’t actively intervene on the mat. . .

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. . . Shortly beforehand I got a call from the national coach who asked me not to fight in view of the coming weeks. For me, the Grand Slams in Tbilisi in Georgia and in Antalya in Turkey are coming up one after the other. Both are qualifying tournaments for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Gabler on the likelihood that he will be in France in July and August. . .

. . . The mode is somewhat comparable to Formula 1 and tennis. It’s about collecting as many world ranking points as possible. Last year I was out for almost nine months due to an elbow injury. The top of the world is very competitive. I now have to win a medal at one of the two Grand Slams.

Gabler about the RTV judo team, for which he is now fighting for the third season. . .

. . . I feel very comfortable in the club. Cedric Pick, as manager, conveyed the overall concept to me very well at the time. That convinced me straight away. Especially since some of my friends also play key roles in the Bundesliga team. After three years now, I can say that I already have a certain connection to the city of Remscheid, even though I live in Cologne.

Gabler about the sporting plans in the season that has just begun. . .

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. . . Winning the German championship is our competitive goal. We want to be at the top at the end of the season. The team has been changed slightly for this. Among other things, with Karl-Richard Frey as coach and Alexander Wieczerzak as assistant coach. This is a highlight. We have decided to act as a united team in order to realize our project. We are really looking forward to our home fights. On May 11th we will welcome Witten in the Neuenkamp hall. This is a derby for us and we would like to lose even less. On June 29th we face Potsdam.

Gabler about the Final Four, which will most likely be hosted by the RTV judo team. . .

. . . The trend is definitely that we will be awarded the event. We would then move to the Bayer hall in Wuppertal-Sonnborn. The requirement is that at least 2,000 spectators must fit in the hall. This is not the case in Neuenkamp. But the way to Wuppertal wouldn’t be far for our supporters.

Gabler on the importance of fans. . .

. . . The spectators can expect a lot from us athletes. We have World Cup and Olympic participants with medalists on the team. I personally won the German championship twice in a row. We have never had such quality before. The hall – whether in Remscheid or Wuppertal – must be a cauldron. Together we want to win the DM title.

Gabler on the feeling of individual athletes in a team. . .

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. . . If 14 other athletes stand behind you on a day of competition, that will get another three to four percent more performance out of you. You definitely don’t want to lose your fight.

Gabler on his captaincy role. . .

. . . I share it with Nicolas Kunze. There is no clear division of roles for us. Among other things, it’s about looking at the formation, the opponent and the tactical orientation. It is also very important to us to continually focus on team unity. Of course there is also a WhatApp group in the team. But it has a more professional character with data and facts.

Gabler about his place of residence in Cologne and the “danger” of celebrating Carnival. . .

. . . This is not an issue at all, especially before the Olympic Games. It usually goes like this: I come home, unpack my bag, do the laundry and rush off to the next training camp. This time I was at a Grand Slam in Paris over the carnival days. Basically, I would go party.

RGA

2024-03-20 16:47:55
#Gabler #German #champion