Zacarias Chioca: "I dream of a mas-wrestling tournament in Angola"

We are starting a series of publications about the participants of the BRICS+ International Youth Mas-Wrestling Tournament, which is planned to be held on March 15 at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Young athletes fr om Angola will be the first to take part in the parade in alphabetical order.

This African country is worthily represented in world mas-wrestling by Chioca Zacarias Mario Galinha. He is so charismatic that his photos from matches adorn posters of mas-wrestling tournaments in different countries.

Among friends, he is simply Zac. He is 24 years old. He started doing sports at the age of eleven. He preferred judo and capoeira. In 2018, he came to Russia with his sister Leticia to receive a high-quality education. His major is chemical technology.

In early 2022, he was introduced to and immediately fell in love with mas-wrestling. He began spending a lot of time in the gym on the board. His mentor became Ilgam Ishmukhametov. Zac proved to be a capable student and was selected for the student national team in mas-wrestling, participating in two world championships – in Yakutsk and Bishkek, twice in the prestigious Kolmar Cup International tournament  at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, and in the tournament as part of the World Nomad Games in Astana. As for regional and inter-university competitions, there are too many to count.

According to the Angolan athlete, thanks to mas-wrestling, he received a unique opportunity to discover the culture of the northern people and made friends with athletes from different countries. "Mas-wrestling for me is not just a sport, but a real family that motivates and always supports, - the athlete admits. - I feel comfortable in such an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding. In my homeland, mas-wrestling is still little known, but the Ministry of Sports of Angola is following my successes and the promotion of mas-wrestling in the world in general. It is interested in its development in Angola. I was immensely happy to receive support from my native Embassy of Angola in the Russian Federation in the form of a ticket to the VI World Mas-wrestling Championship, which took place in the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic in December last year. I really want Angola to also be on the list of countries wh ere the best mas-wrestlers in the world will compete. I dream that the first international mas-wrestling tournament in Africa will be organized in Angola."

Zacarias Chioca is confidently moving towards his goal, inspiring others along the way. He conducts remote work to prepare his young compatriots - sending equipment blueprints, sharing rules, and providing video lessons. At the BRICS+ youth tournament in Moscow, he will appear in a new role - as a referee. We are confident that he will be a honest and fair referee.