UNDER THE BANNER OF THE EUROPEAN GAMES

With the New Year's holiday approaching, it is time to look back at the past year and what happened in different areas of life. Sport is no exception.

A review of the year in sport was held at a meeting of Azerbaijani President and Head of the National Olympics Com-mission Ilham Aliyev, First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, and representatives of the sports community.

The president said he was pleased with what athletes had accomplished this year, and singled out the organization and scores of the first European Games.

"This year was a historic one in the sports life of Europe, since it saw the first European Games. The Azerbaijani state showed its might here as well. The Games were organized in only two and a half years and held on a par with the Olympic Games. Perhaps no one, including our international partners, believed that we could hold these Games at such a level. The entire Azerbaijani people truly demonstrated solidarity," said Ilham Aliyev. 

He noted that these Games allowed our guests to get to know Azerbaijan. "Six thousand athletes, thousands of coaches, guests, and sports professionals stayed in Baku for about three weeks, where they saw the beauty of our city, experienced the hospitality of our people, and bore witness to the rapid development of Azerbaijan. The general opinion was that holding the Games at a finer level was impossible. Some athletes, having completed their competitions, did not even want to leave our country. They wanted to live in the Olympic village, as the wonderful atmosphere created there pleased them. Here the organization, the modern look, the high standard of the facilities, and the hospitality of the Azerbaijani people created a special atmosphere. They were unforgettable days, and Azerbaijan showed the world what achievements it can make. It showed that in only twenty-four years of independence we have been able to reach the greatest heights," said Ilham Aliyev. 

The president stressed that the coming year will also be crucial in the planning of a number of sporting events. 

"Next year Azerbaijan will hold a different prestigious sports competition - a Formula One race. This competition is one of the three major world-level sports competitions. At first place is, of course, the Summer Olympic Games. At second - the World Cup. In third place is Formula One. Holding this competition in Azerbaijan is, of course, a historic event. This competition will be held in our region for the first time. Our condition was that this competition must take place on the city's streets, since, first, to organize this competition we would have to spend large sums on the construction of a new stadium. There is no need for that. On the other hand, competitions that are held in specially constructed places duplicate one another, are similar to each other. When you watch these competitions on television, you can't tell where they take place. Our strong point will be that they take place on the streets of our beautiful, ancient, and modern city. Until now these competitions have only taken place on city streets in two places - Monaco and Singapore. I am sure that we will hold this wonderful competition too at a fine level. The World Chess Olympics will be held in Baku. This is also a world-level competition, and we are proud of our chess-players," said Aliyev.

"Overall, in Azerbaijan all types of sport are developing. Traditional sports and sports that are new to us are developing. And in 2017 the Islamic Soli-darity Games will take place. The appropriate instructions have been given, and an Organising Committee has been created. In September the first meeting of the Organising Committee took place. I am sure that these Games will be held at the highest level. The development of sport speaks to the general development of any country. If you look at the citizenship of athletes who have won medals at international competitions, world championships, Euro-pean championships, the Olympics, then you will see that more medals are won by athletes from developed countries. We also want to become a developed country, we are walking along that path, we are sure that will achieve that as well," the president emphasized. 

As the leader of Azerbaijan said, the most important sports competition of 2015 was the first European Games, which took place in Baku. Azerbaijani athletes won 56 medals, of which 21 were gold, enabling them to take second place in the team ranking among fifty European countries.

The organization of the Games, which were conducted under the leadership of the First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, was held at a high level. No one could forget the Games' opening and closing ceremonies, or the places at which the competitions were held. Guests could get to know the culture and history of Azerbaijan. A total of 650,000 tickets to the Games were sold. These Games showed that Azerbaijan is capable of organizing an event of any scale. 

Football 

2015 was also a successful year for Azerbaijani football. For the first time two clubs made it into the group stage of the Europa League. For Karabakh this was the second time participating at the group stage, while for Qabala it was the first. In the 2014-2015 season Karabakh also pulled off a "golden twofer", becoming a cup winner and the Azerbaijani champion. 

Wrestling

The past year was also a successful one for wrestlers. At the world championship in the United States, which grants licenses, Azerbaijani athletes won two gold, three silver, and three bronze medals, taking fourth place in the team rankings. Haci Aliyev and Rasul Cunayev were the two who made it to the highest level of the winner's podium. Since the wrestlers won a total of eleven 2016 Olympic licenses, the team's results can be considered very successful. In upcoming competitions the wrestlers will try to win seven more licenses. 

Another accomplishment was the Azerbaijani team's victor at the Greco-Roman Wrestling World Cup. 

Gymnastics

For the Gymnastics Federation of Azerbaijan this year was one of its most successful of all time. At the European championship in Minsk Marina Duru-nda won the bronze medal in performances with ribbons. After that Durunda took sixth place at the all-around event at the world championship, thereby winning a license to the Olympics. 

Gymnasts, who won seven medals at the first European Games, did not go unrewarded at the World Championship either. Five-time European Games medal-winner Oleg Stepko took the bronze at the World Championship in Scotland, gaining a license to the Olympics at the same time. 

Polo

This year the national polo team attracted attention as well. The first European championship for the sport took place in Baku, and the first champion was the Azerbaijani national team. Consisting of Elcin Camalli, Tarlan Qurbanaliyev, Rasad Hasanov, and Silvester Garros, it won all six of its matches.

Weightlifting 

The performance of weightlifters at the world championship in Houston left an ambiguous impression. At the world championship Azerbaijani athletes won two medals. Gold was won by Boyanka Kostova, who broke two world and four European records in the process. Valentin Khristov received a bronze medal. 

It, however, later became known that six members of the team did not past performance-enhancing drug tests. These were Valentin Khristov, Elxan Aliquluzada, Silvia Angelova, Firudin Quliyev, Intiqam Zahirov, and Dadas Dadasbayli. This puts four Olympic licenses won by the weightlifters at risk. If results of the B test confirm the A test results, then the athletes may be subject to life-long disqualifications.

Boxing

The boxers at the world championship in Qatar also had good results. The Azerbaijani team won four metals - one gold, one silver, and two bronze - for the first time. Two athletes also gained Olympic licenses. The best result at the world championship belonged to Elvin Mamiszada, who became the fourth world champion in the history of Azerbaijani boxing.

Chess

The Azerbaijani chess team was not able to defend its title as European champion and first on the continent. Chess club SOCAR-Azerbaijan was awarded the silver medal at the club championship of the European Cup. Rauf Mammadov was European champion at the blitz chess tournament.

Judo

This was not a very successful year for practitioners of judo. Problems prevented athletes from participating in a number of tournaments. After a switch-up in the leadership of the Judo federation, which was headed by SOCAR president Rovnaq Abullayev, the situation began to improve. 

However, Paralympic judo practitioners made quite a name for themselves. At the European championship, which used licensed rating points, Paralympians won eight medals, of which three were gold, three were silver, and two were bronze. 

Gold medals were awarded to Ilham Zakiyev, Ramil Qasimov, and Bayram Mustafayev; silver medals went to Sabina Abdullayeva, Rovsan Safarov, and Ramin Ibrahimov; bronze medals went to Afaq Sultanova and Kanan Abdullaxanli. Overall, Paralympic judo practitioners won five licenses, bringing their total number to seven. 

Cycling

The traditional cycling race Tur de Azerbaijan ended with the victory of its hosts. After five stages of the bike race, team Synergy Baku took first place. 

Taekwondo

Azerbaijani taekwondo practitioners ended a long wait. After a fourteen-year break, Radik Isayev became world champion. In addition, the national taekwondo team also won the World Cup, after becoming the country's best team.

In 2015 Azerbaijani athletes won 823 medals in various competitions, including European and world championships. Out of those 823, 321 were gold, 222 were silver, and 280 were bronze. 

In 2014 there were 805 medals (275 gold, 255 silver, and 275 bronze). 

Over 200 republic-wide competitions and 46 international competitions were held in Azerbaijan.

BEST AZERBAIJANI ATHLETES AND TEAMS IN 2015

(ACCORDING TO THE MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORT)

Team of the year: 

Taekwondo, polo

Club team of the year: 

Football club Karabakh

Federation of the year:

Gymnastics Federation of Azerbaijan

Competitive sports organizer of the year:

Wrestling Federation of Azerbaijan

Sports facilities of the year:

Palace of Water Sports, National Gymnastics Arena, the Baku Olympic Stadium

Coaches of the year:

1. Ibrahim Ibrahimov (Paralympic judo)

2. Camsid Heyrabadi (Greco-Roman wrestling)

3. Asgarxan Novruzov (Freestyle wrestling)

4. Mariana Vasileva (rhythmic gymnastics)

5. Nizami Pasayev (weightlifting)

6. Nariman Abdullayev (Boxing)

7. Elnur Amanov (Taekwondo)

8. Firdovsi Umudov (Freestyle wrestling)

Top ten athletes:

Elvin Mamiszada (victor at the European Games and world boxing champion)

Boyanka Kostova (world women's champion and world female recorder holder in weightlifting)

Maria Stadnik (women's victor at the European Games and prize-winner at the World Cup)

Rasul Cunayev (victor at the European Games and world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling)

Haci Aliyev (bronze prize-winner at the European Games and freestyle wrestling world champion)

Oleg Stepko (victor at the European Games and bronze prize-winner at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship)

Torgul Asgarov (victor at the European Games and freestyle wrestling world champion)

Radik Isayev (victor at the European Games and taekwondo world champion) 

Rafayel Agayev (victor at the European Games and karate world champion)

Ilham Zakiyev (victor at the European Games and World Champion in Paralympic judo)