LISBON GAVE A STANDING OVATION TO AZERBAIJANI GYMNASTS

Gymnasts of the junior group team of Azerbaijan won bronze medals at an international tournament as part of another stage of the World Cup in Lisbon.

The Day.az portal quotes the press service of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation as saying that Gulsum Safizada, Nilufar Niftaliyeva, Sabina Hummatova, Emilia Bagiyeva and Aynur Mustafayeva took third place after Russia and Belarus with 29.15 points in the final exercise with five hoops. Preparing for the European Championship in Vienna at the end of May, the girls showed virtually a mirrored result.

"Also, I was pleased with another junior team, which consists, however, of individual gymnasts," says the head coach of the national team, Mariana Vasileva. "Jala Piriyeva and Zuleyxa Ismayilova (both born in 2000), as well as Veronika Omarova (1999) took 4th place among 19 teams, losing the third line to athletes from the United States. I believe that they did well, and despite the fact that they were the youngest among the competitors, they equally fought them for a place in the sun."

Adult gymnasts who participated in the competition for the World Cup were also remembered with four finals. For example, Lala Yusifova took 5th place in the exercise with the ball. According to the coach, she performed in this sport "at quite a decent level" and so well that the audience gave her a standing ovation. In another final with clubs, Lala came 6th, and in the all-around event - 8th.

Our second participant Marina Durunda also competed in the finals with clubs and took 5th place.

Russia's Margarita Mamun celebrated victory in both cases.

As far as the group team of Azerbaijan is concerned, Sabina Abbasova, Siana Vasileva, Alia Pasayeva, Irada Ahadzada, Sabina Qaratova and Mansura Bagiyeva made their way into the final of the exercise with three balls and two ribbons, where they took 8th place. In the double-event, they settled on the 9th position. At the end of this week, our gymnasts will have a Baltic voyage - the future participants in Euro 2013, Lala Yusifova, Marina Durunda and the junior group will perform at an international tournament in Riga on 13-14 April.

Meanwhile, a female pair of acrobats from Azerbaijan, Aynur Huseynova - Narmin Ramazanova, won a silver medal at the Flanders International Acro Cup in Belgium.

The acrobats of the male pair, Elcin Alibayov - Emin Gulmammadli, brought another "silver" to Baku.

And finally, the second female pair, Lala Huseynova - Xosqadam Quliyeva, who made it into the final in their age group, stopped one step away from the podium, coming fourth.