For kickboxer Alexandra Dzhikaeva, 2025 has been a very good year. After becoming Estonian national champion, the Narva-born star has also tasted success at international level.
“This year, I won the Estonian championship at the beginning of the year, and then after that were the international tournaments in Italy, Turkey and Thailand, where I represented Estonia,” Dzhikaeva said in an interview with ERR.
“The fights were fierce and dynamic, as my opponents were at the top of the rankings – all of them were strong, resilient and aggressive. I won three gold medals. At the end of the year, I went to the long-awaited world championship and finished one step away from gold. But silver is also a novelty for me, as I had never been in second place before,” she said.
Dzhikaeva still recalls with excitement how, at the last minute, she asked the people of her hometown, Narva, and everyone living in Estonia to help fund her trip to compete in Italy.
And, lo and behold, Dzhikaeva’s Christmas miracle happened way ahead of schedule. The amount she needed was raised, and that level of support became a powerful incentive for her to achieve victory.
To the delight of her fans, Dzhikaeva did not miss the chance to succeed.
“After I brought home the gold, there were loads of positive comments saying, ‘Finally, Estonia!’ But there were also comments asking why Estonia doesn’t support us, why there’s no financial support. But we work with what we have,” Dzhikaeva said.
“We already have plans for next year: three World Cup tournaments and the European Championships, which will be held in North Macedonia, and I will work and train very hard for that,” she added.
Narva-born champion kickboxer Alexandra Dzhikaeva. Source: ETV+
In addition to preparing for new competitions, Dzhikaeva finds time to study and improve her skills as a kickboxing coach. Her mentor Sergei Timofeev inspired her to train the younger generation of athletes, and they have now been working together for six years.
“There is a trend now whereby a lot of girls are starting to come to do kickboxing. When I joined 12 years ago, we could count them on the fingers of our hands – they were probably 10 percent of our entire club. But now there are a lot of girls, both youngsters and adults. And nowadays we bring a 50-50 team to competitions in Estonia to represent our club, and that’s really cool,” said Dzhikaeva.
Dzhikaeva is not afraid to trust the youngest members of the club where she trains. It has, she says, become a reliable sporting family for everyone, providing support, encouragement and opportunities to learn from each other. Martial arts also begins with showing the utmost respect to your opponent.
“They grow up and start to think for themselves, to understand that sport is about discipline. You have to overcome yourself, you must not show aggression towards people, and sport teaches you that,” explained Dzhikaeva.
She is also very pleased that in the traditional annual poll to decide the city’s person of the year, a lot of Narva residents actively voted for her. However, she is always ready to give way to those who she believes are more deserving of such awards.
“Last year, a man saved a boy, and I came second! And this year, a boy saved his family, and I came second again. And I’m not upset at all – I’m proud of them, they did a great job! I wish everyone warmth, peace and prosperity in the coming year, so that every home has a light that never goes out. And may all athletes achieve great things in the coming year,” Dzhikaeva said.
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