In 1970, he moved to Minsk and joined the Belarusian fencing lobby which had produced Elena Belova, Alexandr Romankov, and Nikolai Alyokhin.

[3] At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Sidyak became the first Soviet sabreur to win individual gold.

Besides Sidyak, the team consisted of Vladimir Nazlymov, Eduard Vinokurov, and Viktor Bazhenov.

The Soviet and Italian teams met again in the finals, Italy taking gold, and USSR silver.

In 1994, Maffei's 1972 teammate Mario Aldo Montano invited Sidyak to coach the young fencers, including his own son, at his club in Livorno.