Babgoev, who generally competes at under 74kg, beat fellow Russian Piter Gladishev to the top of the podium.

"I felt confident because I woke up in a good mood and with the desire to fight and managed to win several fights fairly easily," he said.

"Although I usually compete in under 74kg, in Minsk I fought in under 82kg, while weighing 78kg.

"We are having a national championship soon, so I don’t want to cut weight, and many rivals had a definite advantage over me because of that.  

"However, it is not the first time I’ve done this.

"Last year, I also fought in Belarus in 82kg weight category and won."

Babgoev admitted that the title of the reigning world champion puts some psychological pressure on him.

"You just need to figure yourself out and fight with a certain attitude," he added.

"A lot depends on it.

"The competition in my weight category at the Russian national sambo championships is huge.

"There are many rivals in the under 74 kg weight category and everyone will be preparing to give it his best shot.

"I’ll be preparing for the tournament together with my coach."

Russia won a total of five sport sambo gold medals in Belarus’ capital.

The hosts matched that tally, while Turkmenistan won three.

There were also two gold medals for Georgia and one each for Armenia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.