ANOTHER DEFEAT

The Women's European Volleyball Championship, held in Belgium and the Netherlands, ended for Azerbaijan at the group stage. Ending their battle at search an early stage, the team suffered a nothing less than a fiasco.

Although the team left for the competition with high hopes, once there it turned into a clear outsider. All plans were upset by the health problems of head coach Faiq Qarayev at the very beginning and the hand-over of management to Bulent Karslioglu. The Turkish professional, however, did not have adequate information about the players' health and how they performed in test matches. In the end the team, having lost all three matches, took last place in its group. Without a doubt, the person most responsible for this failure is Faiq Qarayev himself. The coach, who has been undergoing medical treatment for a long time, of course understood that he could not adequately coach the team at this weighty competition. Even though we know all that he has done for Azerbaijani volleyball, giving him the management of the country's main team was not wise. His health problems led doctors to forbid him from standing for extended periods or undergoing stressful situations. The best way out would have been continuing Qarayev's work as vice president of the Azerbaijani Volleyball Federation.

A true shock for fans was Azerbaijan's loss to the Hungarian team, thanks to which Hungary went to the play-off. Even the most pessimistic fans predicted that Azerbaijan's players would win against Jan de Brandt's players and make their way to the final. The team, however, did not meet even these hopes. One set won by Azerbaijan against the Hungarians did come in handy - while last year the Azerbaijani team occupied 15th place, setting a record for last place, this year they can "comfort" themselves with 14th place. Take note: a team that left with high hopes to win first place on the continent, returned having only taken 14th place among sixteen teams…

The Azerbaijani national team, having won only one set in games with Turkey, Belgium, and Hungary, needs radical reform. The same athletes have played for it for many years already. The time has come to change the team's makeup,  even in the absence of competition. Without a doubt, this team has done enough to make its fans happy, having for the sixth time in a row won a ticket to the final stage of competition for the continental championship. Under the wonderful conditions created for volleyball in our country, settling for participation in the European Championship alone is shameful. New breath must be breathed into the national team. Coaches should select players correctly. If necessary, the team can be strengthened by a few foreign players, with the condition that these foreigners will be truly useful for the Azerbaijani national team.

Something must be said about the many injuries suffered in the days leading up to the high-level competition. Difficulties with the personnel on the team meant that Odina Bayramova, despite her injured shoulder, was forced to play in all matches. Oksana Kurt (Parkhomenko) suffered a leg injury during a match with Hungary. She was replaced by inexperienced Kristina Yaqubova. But injuries were not the main reason for the defeat. The players should not have made the mistakes that took place on the court. Reception and blocks were not on the level they should have been. The lack of cooperation between players should also be mentioned. All of these failures should be a serious signal for the leadership of the Azerbaijani Volleyball Federation. Otherwise things will only get worse for the national team.

Another factor in the team's defeat was the situation in the Azerbaijan's championship. By buying expensive foreign "legionnaires", clubs keep local players on the bench. The national team's players go on the court only during training matches. This means that volleyball players who play once a month are not able to put up a real fight. Clubs aren't interested in a national team, but only personal achievements. All of this means it is necessary to change the regulations for the Azerbaijani championship.

After finishing its participation at the group level of the European Championship, the Azerbaijani national team lost its chance to participate in a licensed tournament of the Summer Olympic Games. For this they would have had to make it through to the quarter finals. It would seem that such a result makes reforms in the Azerbaijani national team inevitable. Let's not forget that in two years the European Championship will take place in Azerbaijan. 

On its home turf the team must perform as successfully as possible. If the team is unsuccessful in front of home audiences, then fans will never forgive the athletes. After the bitter defeat at the European Championship, team captain Oksana Kurt (Parkhomenko) retired from her sports career. The championship in Belgium and the Netherlands was the last for the 31-year-old volleyball player. The captain's reason for ending her career was by no means the team's weak performance. The seasoned player announced her decision even before the beginning of the Championship. What's more, she and her sister Elena Parkhomenko were ready to leave the team after the 2014 World Championship, but agreed to help out the team when asked by Faiq Qarayev. This time she is leaving sport for good. The reason - chronic injuries, which forced Oksana to go to many matches only after pain-relieving injections. Unlike her sister, 33-year-old Elena, who no longer receives invitations to the national team, decided to renew her contract with Azeroil for one more year. Although Oksana Kurt will no longer appear on the court as a player, she will continue her work at her team Azerreil as a club manager, replacing her former club-mate Elena Shabovta. 

After receiving her first invitation into the Azerbaijani national team back in 1998, Oksana Parkhomenko (Kurt) wore the national team's uniform nearly 200 times.