In 1964, his family moved to Astrakhan, where, in 1969, he began to compete in Greco-Roman wrestling under the leadership of Honored Coach of the RSFSR, Vladimir Fomin.

In 1976, he won the Championship of the Soviet Union again and became a member of the USSR national Greco-Roman wrestling team.

The following year, he became the Champion of the USSR again and won a gold medal at the 1977 European Wrestling Championships.

He was a member of the Soviet team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but came in fourth place and was unable to win a medal.

He developed a scientific approach to the general physical, power and speed training of young wrestlers.