CHECK BEFORE OLYMPICS

The World Cup in rhythmic gymnastics has recently ended in Baku with the participation of teams from 17 countries of the world. A high level of organization and the successful performance of Azerbaijani gymnasts marked this prestigious competition. Once again, the team leader of the Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnastics Marina Durunda has demonstrated a highly skilled performance and proved to be among the strongest on the continent.

As expected, in exercises with ribbon Marina Durunda has left most of her peers far behind. She has had 18,500 points at the final round for her complex movements and dynamic performance. So, Durunda was awarded the bronze medal. The first two places were taken by Russian gymnasts Yana Kudryavtseva and Margarita Mamun.

Margarita Mamun was the best at exercises with the ball and awarded a gold medal with 19.400 points won. Another Russian athlete Alexander Soldatov (19.000) won the silver medal while Israel's Neta Rivkin has scored 18.500 points winning the bronze medal. In this exercise, Marina Durunda was the seventh with 17.900 points.

The Russian gymnasts have shown a distinguished performance in exercises with a hoop. The gold medal went to Yana Kudryavtseva (19.450), silver to Margarita Mamun (18.550), and the bronze medal to the French athlete Xeniya Mustafayeva (18.500).

The two Russian gymnasts Yana Kudryavtseva and Margarita Mamun have scored 19.400 points in exercises with clubs getting to the highest step of the podium. The French Xeniya Mustafayeva completed the competition as the third best.

In group competitions, the teams have performed at the final stage with 5 ribbons, 3 hoops and 2 clubs. In competitions with five ribbons, the Israeli national team was on top gaining 18.500 points. The Russian (18.300), and the Spanish (18.250) teams were the second and the third, respectively. The Azerbaijani team took the fifth place with 18.100 points.

In group competitions with 3 hoops and 2 clubs the Russian team has ranked first with 19.000 points. The Italians (18,500) got the silver medal, and the Spanish national team (18.300) got the bronze medal. The Azerbaijani team was the fifth with 17.750 points.

The confident performance of the Azerbaijani team in the World Cup finals was the confirmation of prospects of our young gymnasts. Despite strong competition, the national team has unmistakably performed complex movements and was honored with continuous applauses. The absence of the Azerbaijani team among the winners was due to the fact that the strongest teams of the continent were performing in the final rounds.

The organization of the final round of the World Cup has demonstrated a commitment to national traditions and historical culture. It is worth noting the design of the gymnastic carpet and the venue of the award ceremony styled with Chalabi patterns based on motifs of the Nakhchivan carpets. The closing ceremony of the World Cup competition was the logical continuation of the ceremony of opening.

A colorful closing ceremony was dedicated to the return of the Little Prince from Azerbaijan to his planet. During the presentation, the Little Prince has traveled across Azerbaijan: from the magical fairy mountains of Yanardag through the citrus groves in Lankaran, the flower fields and vineyards of Ismayilli to Shamakhi observatory, where, together with other young stars, he has ascended to his planet passing the fire, a symbol of the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio, to Marina Durunda. Marina Durunda, Jala Piriyeva and the group team have performed at the gala concert.

The Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation Altay Hasanov in an interview with R+ has expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the Azerbaijani gymnasts: "The final stage of the World Cup is also the last competition before the Olympic Games in Rio. The advantage of this step is that the athletes can feel their strengths, it is their last chance. I think this event has brought joy to everyone. Having won a bronze medal in the ribbon exercise, the leader of our team Marina Durunda has met the expectations of her fans".

Highlighting the success of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, Altay Hasanov has added that the federation had successfully organized various prestigious competitions for many years: "I think we are able to hold more major events, it is within our reach. People come to the arena to compete in gymnastics. I see that they leave the arena having become friends. This is a great achievement for our country. People leave with a great impression, with the hope to come back again. Azerbaijan has long been at the forefront of sports countries. This is proven by regular sports events held in our country. I believe that we will see the day when we will hold the World Football Championship, Olympic Games, as Azerbaijan is ready and deserves this".

The head coach of the Azerbaijani national team Mariana Vasileva has also expressed her satisfaction with the performance of our athletes. According to her, in spite of some shortcomings, the national gymnasts are progressing well: "Marina Durunda made us happy. As always, she did it at the very last moment. It has become a tradition. She has done the same at both the European Games and the European Championship in Minsk. But the most important thing is that she has made us happy. Although she has made some mistakes but I am happy since it is better to make these mistakes here than at the Olympic Games".

Mariana Vasileva has also noted that she was very pleased with the performance of another Azerbaijani gymnast Jala Piriyeva: "I am extremely pleased with Jala, she is still a very young gymnast. This is her first year with the junior program. She has well done the three exercises and extremely pleased me. However, she has made a small mistake in the fourth round. It is the first time she will be listed in the world rankings, and I can only congratulate her for this achievement".

As for the group performances of Azerbaijani gymnasts, the head coach said that it was the first time they scored 18.100 points: "I think that they deserved this. This achievement will inspire and strengthen their belief in themselves. The only thing that could stop them was the lack of confidence that they could be among the leaders. However, I think that the points given by the judges have demonstrated that they were deserving this".

Having no time to rest, the Azerbaijani gymnasts have left for Brazil to attend the 31^st Summer Olympic Games. Marina Durunda (rhythmic gymnastics), Oleg Stepko, and Petro Pahnyuk (both gymnastics) will represent Azerbaijan in this most prestigious competition of the world.