YEAR OF SPORTS

The year 2012, which brought Azerbaijan success in a number of areas and was rich in significant events, including in sports, has come to an end. The designation of 2012 as a Year of Sports by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was a great incentive for the sports community, which made every effort to complete it with high indicators. "The sportsmen lived up to our expectations. In 2012, they won more than 700 medals in various international competitions. And 255 of them are gold," the president of Azerbaijan and head of the National Olympic Committee, Ilham Aliyev, said while summarizing the sports results of the year.

The triumph of Azerbaijani sportsmen in London, the holding of the U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan, FC Neftci's making it into the group stage of the Europa League, the SOCAR-Azerbaijan chess club's winning the European Cup and other significant events occurred precisely in 2012.

Olympic triumph

Certainly, the greatest success of the year were the Summer Olympics in London. In the Foggy Albion, Azerbaijani sportsmen won 10 medals - two gold, two silver and six bronze medals, which became the most valuable contribution to the Year of Sports. After one medal in Atlanta, three in Sydney, five in Athens and seven in Beijing, everyone expected that nine medals would be won in London. Although the judo wrestlers' unexpected defeat in the early days of the Olympics caused negative emotions in a number of eager fans and even joy in some countries and circles, true fans believed that success was not far off. In the end, having achieved a historic result, Azerbaijan took 30th place in the world, 15th in Europe and third in the Islamic world.

11 August is "a golden day" in the history of Azerbaijan sports. Judoka Elnur Mammadli celebrated victory in Beijing, and this time the title of champion was won by two of our athletes at once - Togrul Asgarov and Sarif Sarifov. Demonstrating the highest commitment and will, both wrestlers brought victory to Azerbaijan.

The fact that Greco-Roman wrestler Rovsan Bayramov won a silver medal at the second Olympics in a row was a manifestation of his high professionalism. Easily defeating all his rivals on his way to the final, Bayramov proved that he was ready to fight in the Olympic arena. And, despite losing in the final, his silver medal is tantamount to gold.

The bronze medallist of Beijing, Maya Stadnik, returned from London with a silver medal. The "bronze" of wrestler Emin Ahmadov not only pleased the coaches, but also surprised in a good way.

The boxers remained true to traditions again. European champion Teymur Mammadov and world champion Magomedrasul Majidov contented themselves with bronze medals. Wrestlers Khetag Gazyumov and Yuliya Radkevich also won a "bronze". Valentin Hristov brought the first bronze medal to our team in weightlifting.

At the Olympic Games in London, gymnast Aliya Qarayeva stopped one step away from the medal. In 2012, Qarayeva won several tournaments and a bronze medal at the European Championships.

Azerbaijani Paralympians won 12 medals - four gold, five silver and three bronze medals in London. The winners of the Games were wrestlers Ramin Ibrahimov (60 kg) and Afaq Sultanov (57 kg). One gold and three silver medals were won by swimmer Natalya Pronina. Among the athletes, Oleg Panyutin went on the highest step of the podium. The "silver" went to Vladimir Zaytsev and Huseyn Huseynov, while our quartet including Oleg Panyutin, Rza Osmanov, Elcin Muradov and Vladimir Zaytsev won bronze medals in the 4x100 metre relay race. This historic achievement allowed the Paralympic team of Azerbaijan to take 27th place in the world.

Not just Olympics ...

This year was remarkable for FC Neftci, which made it into the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. Thus, Neftci brought great joy to its fans and the whole football public. The three points scored on its debut tournament can be considered a success for our team. Although it was clear from the very beginning that Neftci is unlikely to qualify for the next stage, the draw in an away match with Italian Inter, the winner of the Champions League two years ago, is a result that pleased us all.

Judoka Elnur Mammadov won the World Masters tournament in Kazakhstan. Elmar Qasimov won a bronze medal. Nicat Sixalizada, who returned to sports, experienced the joy of victory at the Grand Prix in Dubai.

Our wrestlers achieved great success in the European Championships. Champions of the continent are freestyle wrestler Togrul Asgarov and Greco-Roman wrestler Elcin Aliyev.

Yelena Vistropova gained the first victory in women's boxing in the history of Azerbaijan sports, winning a silver medal at the World Championships.

At the Club World Championships held in Qatar, Rabita volleyball players won silver medals, losing only in the final. Our women's volleyball squad made it into the European Championship for the fifth time in a row. Having gained a landslide victory in the most difficult matches, Faiq Qarayev's team proved that they are able to fight the strongest teams of the continent. The Champions League final was held in Baku for the first time.

Having won three gold and two bronze medals, the Azerbaijani national weightlifting team achieved a new record in the European Championships. Valentin Hristov, Afqan Bayramov and Boyanka Kostova went on the highest step of the podium. Intiqam Zakirov successfully participated in the shot put, winning the small bronze medal. Silvia Angelova and Yuliya Dovgal came third.

For the first time in the past year, the SOCAR-Azerbaijan chess team won the European Chess Club Cup. The historic victory was won at the continental championship held in the Israeli city of Eilat.

Another piece of good news related to chess was the record number of points scored by Teymur Racabov on the FIDE rating list. Our best representative in the world of chess scored 2,793 points and has been taking 4th place in the world ranking of players for seven months, setting a record among Azerbaijani chess players. His record is an absolute indication for Azerbaijan.

Sports power

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Azerbaijan. But if in the early years this structure operated only as a formality, in recent years, the scope of the committee's activities amazes even the most demanding sports experts. Every year new Olympic facilities are put into operation while the sports infrastructure is strengthening.

Efforts to create sports infrastructure were continued in 2012. With the commissioning of two more regional Olympic centres - in Calilabad and Astara, the number of Olympic sports complexes built in the country reached 35. The construction of eight more such complexes continues. President Ilham Aliyev noted that "after a few years modern Olympic facilities will be set up in each regional centre and each city".

The renovated Republican Tofiq Bahramov Stadium was commissioned in Baku last year. The 8th kilometre stadium was built. The construction of the region's largest Olympic stadium and gymnasium complex was continued, and the construction of the Palace of Water Sports began.

All this affects the adoption of decisions by various international federations to hold prestigious sporting events in Azerbaijan.

In 2012, Azerbaijan hosted the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup for the first time. It was won by France. Along with Baku, matches of the championship were held in Lankaran. In the capital, five stadiums were made available to the football players and in Lankaran - one. Three of them were built in preparation for the World Cup. FIFA was very pleased with the conditions created by Azerbaijan to host the first such international football competition, which was emphasized by FIFA President Joseph Blatter and other officials at the opening of the championship.

In 2012, Baku hosted GT3 and classical Formula 1 competitions for the first time. These prestigious competitions were broadcast by 65 TV channels around the world and watched by 130 million viewers. The competition involved Formula 1 world champions, Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Verstappen.

In the summer of 2012, the news came in that Baku will host the 2016 Chess Olympiad. The decision was taken at the 83rd FIDE Congress held in Istanbul, where the overwhelming majority of the delegates voted for the candidacy of our capital. Thus, it was confirmed that Azerbaijan will host the most authoritative chess competition in the history of our sports. The Olympiad will be presumably held in September 2016. And before that, Baku will host the World Cup in 2015.

Finally, quite recently, another piece of good news came from Italy. The 41st General Assembly of the European Olympic Committee in Rome made a historic decision to hold the first ever European Olympic Games. No less important historic decision taken by secret ballot was the holding of these Games in Baku. Speaking at the Assembly, EOC President Patrick Hickey supported the candidacy of Baku and stressed that anyone who has ever been to this city witnesses the achievements of Azerbaijan.

"The holding of the first games is in itself a serious step and turning point in the Olympic movement. The fact that these Games have been entrusted to us and that this responsibility has been placed on us is, of course, an event of great historical importance," the president of Azerbaijan said while congratulating the people on the occasion once again.

Thus, the sports year 2012 once again confirmed that during the short period of its independence, Azerbaijan managed to achieve an extremely high international reputation in general and establish itself as a world sports power in particular.