He was trained by his father, was in the French national team, then coach in Thailand (2013-2015) and Indonesia (2015-2017). The helping results, he is contacted by Kazakhstan.

In two years, Tareq Abdesselem helped make it one of the world's leading karate nations. At 32, the French became one of the coaches in sight on the international circuit. Who better than him to present us this new karate stronghold before the 16th Asian championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (July 19-21) ?

By Ludovic Mauchien / Photos : DR

Kazakhstan is a team. Never easy to handle, always difficult to dominate. It's also individualities, starting with Darkhan Assadilov (-60 kg), World n°1, 3rd in the 2018 World championships, 6 podiums including 5 wins in a row in 2019, but also Sofya Berultseva (+68 kg), 2017 Junior World champion, 5 podiums including 1 win in 2019, or Sabina Zakharova (-55 kg), the Montreal winner in June...

Since 2016 and the Olympic advent, Kazakhstan means also… means. Those who made it possible to hire Tareq Abdesselem in 2017. 4 years ago, at 26, the French went on an adventure and in the unknown in Bangkok. He has built a good reputation in Asia thanks to his work in Thailand and Indonesia. He is then contacted by Kazakhstan. He tells us about his new successful adventure…

"Kazakhstan is one of the most successful teams in Asia with Japan and Iran. Far from me to imagine that one day, I could be at the head of such a big team. But, with time and patience, I was able to show and develop my abilities within the Asian continent.

My adventure with Kazakhstan started on September 1, 2017. The project is much larger and more important than what I had knew until then, with very stable financial means and a very developed logistics. It is very important to note that, in Asia, the government, via the Olympic Committee, is the first financial funder of the national federations.

Kazakhstan is in the center of Asia and is close to one of the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of combat sports, the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Iran...), where we find in each discipline stars or even legends of combat sports such as Aghayev for Karate (Azerbaijan), Golovkin for Boxing (Kazakhstan), Sadullayev for wrestling (Dagestan, Russia), Nurmagomedov for UFC (Dagestan, Russia) and many more...

Combat sports are the only medal-bearers for Kazakhstan at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. The President of the Kazakh Karate Federation is none other than a karateka, multimillionaire, owner of the Tassay company, which controls the distribution of water and all other drinks in the country.

The Kazakh pool in karate is huge. Karate remains 90% financed by the State. In each of the major cities of the country, a high-level training center has been established. In each of these structures, there are 100 high-level Karatekas, from Cadets to Seniors.

We find this system in all other combat sports in the country, but also in Russia. It is none other than an old system of Soviet Union sports, but which remained very anchored.

The Senior National Team meet 10 to 12 times in the year, two to three weeks before each of the major events (World, Asian, Premier League, Series A) for intensive camps, where only the bests of the county are selected. We have 3 Olympic centers where all of our seminars take place.

The Kazakhstan team has 3 big Sensei who ensure the smooth running of the team and the fairness of the selection choices. These three Sensei do not intervene in the seminars or competitions, they are present only at each big annual sports meeting for the implementation of the selection criteria. Two sports directors are in place, with a dozen coaches under their leadership.

It is very important to note that in Kazakhstan, the Olympic Committee does not take too much into account the results of the World Championships. The main goals are the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games and the Olympic Games.

After the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan, the national team will rest until August 25, then we will start the season with Tokyo, Chile and Moscow.

For my part, no rest is envisaged. I was contacted by the Brazilian Olympic Committee to intervene as coach consultant for the national team in their preparation for the Pan American Games in Lima. I will be in Rio De Janeiro from July 22nd to August 10th. Then, also contacted by Indonesia for a seminar, I will be in Bali from August 11 to 25”.