THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS ENCOURAGING

Even the experienced head coach Nizami Pasayev did not expect such a result from the Azerbaijani weightlifters, though he made ambitious statements ahead of the European Championship. The Azerbaijani team returned from the last continental championship in Antalya with three gold and two bronze medals. The girls also won a place in the Olympics.

The Azerbaijani team gained its best ever weightlifting result at the European Championships in 2001. Azerbaijani sportsmen pleased their fans with three medals in Slovakia at the time. And after 11 years, this record was renewed in Turkey in both qualitative and quantitative terms.

Valentin Hristov (56 kg), Afqan Bayramov (69 kg) and Boyanka Kostova (58 kg) went on the highest step of the podium. In addition to the gold trophy, Hristov also broke two European records.

According to experts, Valentin's victory at the European Championships will increase his motivation on the eve of the London Olympics. "Hristov can now be congratulated - he will definitely win a medal at the London Olympics. It remains only to specify the hallmark of the medal. He is really a very strong and promising athlete," Halil Mutlu, a living legend of world weightlifting, said about Hristov.

Afqan Bayramov's success is also worthy of attention. The "gold" won by the athlete, who failed to achieve results in the national team for a long time, is an important indicator. Do not forget about competition, which is not as severe at the European championships as in the Olympics. In addition, the Russian athlete, who was to compete with Bayramov, was injured. Thus, lifting 321 kg in the continental championships, Bay-ramov won a "gold", while he took only seventh place with 329 kg at the Beijing Olympics. Therefore, Afqan is unlikely to win an Olympic medal in London.

Another Azerbaijani weightlifter Intiqam Zahirov, though he won a "bronze" in the weight class of 94 kg, failed to show his best performance. Having lifted 213 kg, the athlete could have competed for better results. The fact that among the relatively weak opponents, Zahirov confined himself only to third place shows that he is not in a good shape today.

It should be noted that many countries did not send their main forces to Antalya, deciding to save them for the Olympics. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus fought with their second teams, giving the young an opportunity to practice.

The successful performance of Azerbaijani women weightlifters at the European Championships deserves special attention. For a long time there was no one to represent Azerbaijan in women's competitions. Now, thanks to the gold medal of Boyanka Kostova and bronze medalists Silvia Angelova and Yulia Dovgal, Azerbaijan gained one more place in the Olympics. For Junior Olympic medalist Kostova, victory in the European Championships among adults is doubly important.

Thus, Azerbaijani weightlifters have six places in the Olympic Games (5 males + 1 female). It is not yet known who will be representing the country in London - the Weightlifting Federation of

Azerbaijan will announce the Olympic team at the end of May, although some athletes can now be safely named - Valentin Hristov, Afqan Bayramov and Intiqam Zahirov.

It now remains to prepare for the Games and hope that after four Olympics Games, the Azerbaijani national team under the leadership of weightlifting veteran Nizami Pasayev will be able to overcome the Olympic losing streak and come back with medals from London. According to experts, Azerbaijan can count on two Olympic medals in weightlifting. High hopes are also pinned on one of the Bulgarian legionaries. Although the Olympics Games do not like predictions, let's hope that the experts are right this time.