IS THIS JUST THE BEGINNING?

The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in France were of great importance to the Azerbaijani national team since it was a licensing tournament. Aliya Qarayeva distinguished herself. With a successful performance, the Azerbaijani grace won not only a bronze medal, but also our country's 18th place in the Olympic Games in London.

The leader of Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnastics distinguished herself in the exercises with the clubs, finishing fourth, and took fifth place in the exercises with the ribbon. Gold, silver and bronze medals in both exercises were won by Yevgeniya Kanayeva (Russia), Daria Kondakova (Russia) and Silvia Miteva (Bulgaria).

We should emphasize that, despite strong competition, in the exercise with the clubs, Qarayeva was a step away from the medal. She lacked only a few points. But she still achieved her goal -

our gymnast competed in the all-around events, got into the final and won a bronze medal. Thus, Qarayeva, who already had various medals from world and European championships, became the first Azerbaijani athlete to succeed in all-around events, which are considered the most difficult form of the sport. Aliya was among the world's 15 gymnasts to win a ticket to London, which makes her achievement even more significant.

The World Cup involves teams from all over the world. And winning a medal in such a tough competition is an extremely difficult task. The successful performance of our team is proven by the words of the Russian head coach, Irina Viner. In an interview with the Russian media, she praised the Azerbaijani national team's level of training. "Now there are many interesting teams in gymnastics. The Azerbaijani team has greatly advanced in recent years. We are also helping them. Let them show what they can do in competition conditions," Viner said.

As for Aliya, the bronze medallist of the World Cup shared her joy with us: "I was very nervous. Compared with last year's championship in Moscow, this competition was harder, because there was a fight for Olympic places. I'm glad it worked out. I'm very happy to be back in Azerbaijan with a medal and a place. This medal will occupy a special place in my collection. Achieving success in the Olympic category is always extremely difficult. Therefore, the medal I won in France is particularly dear and an inspiration to me. I would like to repeat this success at the Summer Olympics in London."

It should be noted that the Azerbaijani graces have to take part in several more licensing tournaments and, perhaps, Aliya Qarayeva's licence is just the beginning. In this sport, only two athletes (according to the rules, each country can be represented only by two gymnasts) and the national team in group exercises can participate in the Olympic Games.

 And Aliya Qarayeva can take time out and start preparing for her performances in London. Now we can hope that she will bring back a medal from there too.