Berdysheva told the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) that she became a blind sambo coach after being offered a teaching position at a boarding school for the blind and visually impaired in Bashkiria.

Berdysheva, a former participant at national and World Junior Championships, said there were similarities between coaching athletes with and without visual impairments.

The coach explained that her main goal was to support young people to be included in society, as well as developing their sambo skills.

"When I was still training myself, I often helped my coach conduct sambo classes with younger groups," Berdysheva said.

"Here everything is the same as with sighted sambists, it is necessary just to take into account that someone does not see at all, while someone has a rest.

"If sighted children just need to demonstrate by example, then with the blind they need to show them, work out for a long time and carefully.

"It is very interesting to work with blind and visually impaired children, they show a high level of hard work and perseverance in sambo training."

Berdysheva added: "Many of my students are winners of the sambo championships of the Republic of Bashkortostan among the blind and visually impaired.

"Also, some of my students are winners and medallists of the Youth Games of Martial Arts, where there is also sambo discipline among the blind and visually impaired.

"The most important task for me, as a teacher, is to raise full-fledged members of society from children, despite the health problems of vision.

"And as a sambo coach, the pupils may have one task - so that the children become champions of the World Youth and Junior Sambo Championships among the blind and visually impaired."

Berdysheva also works as a judo coach at the school.

The development of blind sambo is high on the agenda for FIAS ,which approved rules and classification rules for the discipline in October.