FROM FORMULA-1 TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Apparently, the sports calendar of Azerbaijan for 2018 is going to be as eventful as it was last year. In the next twelve months, Azerbaijan will host many international competitions including the most significant ones presented below.

Gymnastics

Just before the Novruz festivities, on March 15-18, 2018, Baku will host the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup expecting the participation of some twenty countries. The European Championships in Trampoline, Tumbling and Double Mini-Trampoline will also be held in Azerbaijan (April 12-15). Athletes from more than 40 countries will challenge each other for the title of the European champion.

On April 27-29, the National Gymnastics Arena will host the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup. Qualification tournament in gymnastics to determine the participants of the Youth Olympics will be held on June 22-23.

Formula 1

On 27-29 April, Baku will again be in the spotlight of the international sports community thanks to the next Grand Prix of Azerbaijan Formula 1. The first preparations for the race have already started on the Baku Circuit. The interested can also buy tickets for the tournament now.

Chess

In April, Shamkir will host the traditional international tournament dedicated to the memory of grandmaster Vugar Gashimov, The Shamkir Chess-2018. This year, it is expected to see the participation of grandmasters from eight countries. The traditional chess tournaments Baku Open and Naxçıvan Open will be held in May and October, respectively.

Cycling

The strongest road cycling teams of the world will compete in Azerbaijan again. The cycling category 2.1 of the International Cycling Union (UCI) Tour d'Azerbaidjan-2018 will be organized on May 9-13. UCI has already included the five-day competition in its calendar for 2018. But the Tour d'Azerbaidjan-2018 is not the only competition for cyclists held in our country. On May 8, the participants of Tour d'Azerbaidjan-2018 will take part in the one-day race Bakı-Xızı Eko. This Category 1.1 competition, which is considered a sufficiently high level tournament, is also included in the calendar of the International Federation.

In addition, on May 5-9, Baku will host the BMX World Championship, yet another Olympic event for cyclists. Thirty countries have already expressed their desire to participate in the World Cup, and this number is growing. The test event of the Baku Worlds Test Event, which took place on the BMX track after the reconstruction, was highly appreciated by the official representatives of the International Cycling Union, which they confirmed by an official letter.

Judo

One of the main competitions of the year, the World Judo Championship, will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena on September 20-27. It is expected to bring together athletes from up to 150 countries. Competitions will be broadcast live in more than 50 countries. Azerbaijan will be represented in all weight categories in competitions of men and women. Until now, only one of our judokas, Elkhan Mammadov, has been awarded the gold medal of the World Championship. Therefore, the fans hope to witness the birth of new world champions in judo from Azerbaijan. 

In his interview with Region Plus, the Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov has expressed his hope for high results of Azerbaijani athletes in 2018. "We believe in our athletes. We expect even better results when such prestigious competitions take place in our homeland. In general, 2018 is significant for Azerbaijani sports in terms of holding important tournaments. Our main goal is to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Various teams will participate in relevant competitions in accordance with the approved timetable. Some athletes will get license points, others will struggle for the qualification for the Olympics. I think that in 2018 Azerbaijani sportsmen will please us with numerous victories," said the minister.