"It would be a shame if you're allowed to go to the Olympics and you come in unprepared."

The Biathlon Center Raubichi near Minsk has been hosting the Strongest Athletes Cup with the participation of Russian and Belarusian biathletes for almost a week. In men's biathlon, the greatest successes so far have been achieved by silver medalist of the Olympics-2022 in Beijing, Belarusian Anton Smolski, who won two golds in sprint and pursuit, as well as bronze medalist of the same Olympics, Russian Karim Khalili, who took fifth place in the sprint, silver in the pursuit and gold in the individual race.

In an interview with Izvestia, the 26-year-old Khalili assessed his form at this competition, explained why he achieved such results and stated the need to prepare for the 2026 Olympics in Italy even with the uncertainty about the admission of Russians.

- How do you assess your form at the Strongman Cup?

- I can't say that it is optimal. To be honest, I'm not really satisfied with my form. When we were at the training camp in Sochi, my condition was much better. So far, I'm not quite the condition I expected. Maybe it will be better in the remaining races. But in general you can be satisfied with the fact that even in this condition you managed to win two medals.

- Why did you manage to take them, and also to take fifth place in the sprint on the first day?

- On the first day, when I ran the sprint, my condition was not very good. There were extra seconds at the firing line - after all, there was a decent gust of wind during the shooting, especially while standing, so I had to work on quality, not speed. I had to delay my shots. And these seconds were not enough for me to get on the podium - I lost 10 seconds to the third place winner Ilya Avseenko and 20 seconds to the second place winner Saveliy Konovalov. It got better from there. In the pursuit race I had a good shooting. I think I worked well in terms of speed on the firing line, and in general the quality was more controlled. That's why I managed to get to the medal. Well, in the individual race my form improved. Another thing is that the weather was colder and the movement was more constrained. And sliding was very difficult, because there was fresh snow - I just had to push my skis through. But I managed to control my shooting, to keep maximum concentration on each shot. And that led to success.

- After the January stages of the Russian Cup and the Commonwealth Cup, when you competed in plus temperature, have you managed to get used to the usual cold weather in Belarus?

- The weather is quite comfortable. When we came to Raubichi and worked in training during the first days, it was unusual to do it at minus temperature. Even the weather was very frosty - we got a little used to it. But on the start days it became a little warmer, and it was the most comfortable mode.

- What will our biathletes need to improve after returning to the international arena to fight for medals there?

- If we take the first two races of the Strongest Cup, we need to improve in everything. I think that Anton Smolskiy, who won them with a big gap, would be in the top-6 at the World Cup. And the rest would be in the top-60.

- In your opinion, have the Russian and Belarusian biathletes sagged a lot in the level against the leaders of the World Cup during the three years of the ban?

- I think it's pointless to discuss this topic until we come back and compare everything in practice, when we will be on the same track with the best biathletes. Because right now, you can speculate all you want. But the snow, the track, the atmosphere, the tension, the fans' support - all this is different in every city, country and every race. Even now in Belarus at the Cup of the Strongest, if you start all the participants of the race in two hours on the same track, everything will be different. Therefore, it will be biased to compare something until we return to international starts.

- Do you feel that biathlon in Russia has decreased in popularity after the suspension from international competitions?

- To be honest, fewer and fewer people are starting to watch biathlon in Russia. In recent years, when I meet strangers who seem to recognize me, I often hear from them that they stopped watching after our suspension from the World Cup. Although, maybe someone, on the contrary, began to watch us in the last three years. In any case, the quality of biathlon broadcasting in our country, the picture on the screens, is very high, not inferior to the World Cup. And the organization of domestic competitions is good, that's why several thousand people come to the competitions in Russia and Belarus this year.

- How do you assess the chances of returning to the international arena next season?

- The same as in the case of comparing the results. I think it's hard to talk about it now, as the situation can change any day. Nothing depends on my words or anyone else's. So we just work and wait for news.

- Will you still plan the training schedule for next season with an eye on the Olympics?

- Of course, in any case it will be necessary to prepare to the maximum. Both in case of admission and in case of non-admission. Since the Olympics can be decided at the last moment, if everything turns out positively, we need to go there with something. Otherwise, it will be a shame if you are allowed to go there and you come unprepared. In general, you need to do everything to the maximum.