THE TEST HAS BEEN PASSED

The European Junior Taekwondo Champi-onships held in Chisinau brought two more gold medals to the treasury of Azerbaijani sports. A participant in the London Olympics, Farida Azizova (67 kg), and Huseyn Mehraliyev (68 kg) rose to the highest step of the podium after gaining victories over their rivals. Being behind only the national teams of Russia and Turkey, the Azerbaijani national team took third place in the team competition among 22 teams.

After the return of the team, Farida Azizova, who was considered one of the leaders of the national taekwondo team, was a guest of R+.

- First of all, congratulations. You also won a gold medal in last year's World Junior Champi-onships in Egypt. Can we say that the European Championships were relatively easier for you?

- Thank you for your congratulations. We prepared for the competition very seriously, thinking only about winning. The encounter with the Dutch athlete at an early stage was the most difficult. I badly needed to win from a psychological point of view. I also had to adapt to the atmosphere of the competition and continue the winning streak. In the battle for the gold medal, I beat the French athlete Haby Niare and became a European champion. It's hard in every competition. And after winning, everyone thinks that the victory was easy.

- The tournament was attended by 14 of our athletes. How can you evaluate the fact that only two gold medals were won?

- The European Championships were a test for us. Of course, winning just two gold medals at the test tournament completely suits us, as some of our athletes lost the fight for medals. The tide turned against them. Had sports fortune smiled at them, the number of medals we won could have been higher.

- That is to say there was no one who did not live up to the expectations...

- The main thing is that we achieved our goal and the athletes showed the expected results. Of course, the number of medals could have been higher. The girls lived up to our expectations. Two of the athletes lost the fight for third place, that is to say they were two steps away from medals. I think if they work on themselves, they will be able to please the coaches in future competitions.

- Probably, the success in Mol-dova will help to forget about the defeat in London?

- We really wanted to win a medal at the Summer Olympic Games in London. But we were not lucky for a number of reasons. The lack of experience also made itself felt. Now all my thoughts are focused on the Olympic Games in 2016. The season of licences has already started. First you have to win a ticket to the Olympics and then make the dream of medals come true.

- This year the World Champi-onship among adults will be held. How do you rate your chances in this competition after winning in Europe?

- The World Championship will be held in Mexico in August. It is necessary to prepare for this competition very seriously, as the European and World Championships are quite different from each other. Competition will be much higher. Only one defeat can deprive an athlete of the chance for a medal. After the success in Europe, my biggest dream is to win the world championship. I know that there are many strong athletes in my weight class. But I am able to beat them.

- For many years our team members have been winning medals at European and World championships. But it is not possible to succeed at the Olympic Games. Do you think we will be able to break this losing streak?

- Of course, if an athlete is able to work on himself, he will definitely conquer the desired peak. Do not forget about strong competition in the Olympics. The best athletes of the world come together there. I think in 2016 we can make our long-held dream come true. Until 2012, we had no medals in weightlifting. We want to return home from Brazil with a medal.

- Despite the rapid development of sports in Azerbaijan, we have very few women in martial arts. In this sense, doesn't the sport create problems in your personal life?

 - It did before. Now we have many representatives of the fair sex in taekwondo, karate and other martial arts. The sport has become a part of our personal lives. I am proud to be an athlete. An athlete has the right to represent his homeland. In this sense, we are engaged in a noble cause. I would not say that the sport interferes with our personal lives. It even contributes to it. After the victory, my relatives realize that I made the right decision by choosing taekwondo.