“I don’t deserve this.” The winner of the World Championships and European Championships in karate had to get a job as a security guard in a supermarket

Spanish karateka Babacar Sek has been working as a security guard at a supermarket in Zaragoza for four months and has hardly practiced, according to Marca.

Babacar, who turned 24 in June, came to Spain at the age of 11 from Senegal with his family. In July, he won gold at the World Kumite Games in the 84 kg weight category. Earlier, Babakar won silver and bronze at the European Championships, bronze at the World Championships.

The Spaniard said that when karate left the Olympic program after the Tokyo Games, the athletes were deprived of scholarships, so he had to go to work. At the store, Sec works the evening shift and spends eight hours a day on his feet.

“Sometimes I would come home at two in the morning and go for a run in my neighborhood. It’s crazy, but when I go to bed, I feel bad, because it seems that I’m not giving my best. I also have a basketball court near my house and sometimes I run there. Or I get up and go to exercise before work.

I train karate once or twice a week, and sometimes I don’t practice at all. If my opponents knew about it… Given the medals I win for Spain, I don’t think I deserve to be in this situation,” Seck said.

The athlete added that if he received support from the state, he could fully devote himself to sports.