BRILLIANT WINS

The year 2014 will be remembered for its brilliant wins and significant events in Azerbaijani sport. Last year Azerbaijani sportsmen won 805 medals (25 more than in 2013) - 275 gold, 255 silver and 275 bronze. 

Last year will also be remembered for a number of significant events in preparing for the upcoming First European Games in Baku. Baku-2015 promotion ceremonies have been held in several European countries, and the construction of the sports facilities for the Olympiad is in its final stages.

In keeping with tradition, Azerbaijan's president and chairman of the National Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev had a meeting with the sportspeople and trainers. Azerbaijan's president assessed 2014 as a successful year in our sporting activities: "From year to year our sportsmen have been winning more and more medals. This has been no exception. At international competitions, world and European championships they have won 805 medals, including 275 gold ones. The number of medals has risen again compared with last year. This also indicates that our sportspeople are trying to achieve the best results they can. We are naturally pleased about the number of medals, since this is the main indicator that sport is continuing to develop."

Ilham Aliyev recalled that a number of prestigious competitions had been held in Azerbaijan over the last year: two of them were the European artistic [rhythmic] gymnastics and taekwondo championships. International competitions are being held in Azerbaijan every year. Thus, Azerbaijan is able to show what it has to offer in this sphere. We shall naturally make sure that we go on with these successes. The Youth Summer Olympic Games in China in 2014 may be cited as an obvious example of this. At these games our sportsmen won the greatest and, it may be said, a historic victory. Young Azerbaijani men and women occupied 10th place in the team score in these games in which 204 countries took part. That is a great, historic achievement. It will be hard to repeat that success in the future. But we should strive to do it, the president said.

President Ilham Aliyev said that holding the First European Games was also an indicator of the might of Azerbaijan: "Since only strong states are able to hold such major events, such sports events. Azerbaijan is a country that enjoys great respect in the international arena. In the world of sport, as I have mentioned, all officials in charge of sport talk about Azerbaijan's successes. Therefore these Games will allow Azerbaijan to show the world what it is really like and to demonstrate once more that a young, independent Azerbaijan is achieving great successes, is open to the world, that our country is a modern one, while remaining attached to its history and cultural roots, and that there is tight security in our country."

President Ilham Aliyev presented a group of sportsmen and sports experts who had distinguished themselves at various international competitions with the deeds for new flats. 

Elsevar Quliyev, Elvin Ahmadli, Akbar Faracev and Casarat Ahmadov, who achieved the top results, were awarded an honorary certificate of the National Olympic Committee. For their services to the development of sport, Rafiq Hasanov and Mammad Huseynov were presented with documents granting them personal pensions from the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In 2014, our wrestlers, gymnasts, and karatekas improved their results. The "Qarabag" football team attained the League of Europe level in the group qualifying stage, the chief coach of the national football team, Berti Vogts stepped down. 

This is how Regionplus recalls the main sports events of 2014.

European Games 2015 

The promotion of the European Games took place in five different cities in Europe. The organisers determined who should sponsor the competitions. Contracts were concluded with foreign TV stations to broadcast the Games live. In 2014 preparations for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies began. The last stage in the construction of the sports facilities in Azerbaijan, which are to welcome more than 6,000 sportsmen, was started.

Football 

A number of changes have occurred in Azerbaijan's favourite sport. The national team was beaten three times in a row in the qualifying stages of the Euro-2016 championships, after which its chief trainer Berti Vogts resigned. The AFFA [Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan] has temporarily put Mahmud Qurbanov in charge of the team, under whose management it was defeated by Norway. At the end of the year, the Croatian professional footballer Robert Prosinecki was appointed the team's chief coach.

"Neftci" and "Qarabag" played the largest number of European Cup matches. After conceding defeat to "Partizan" from Serbia, the white and blacks came to a halt just a step away from the group qualifying stage. The "Qarabag" club from Agdam opened a new page in Azerbaijani football. Qurban Qurbanov's trainees managed to make it into the Europa League group qualifying stage.

One of the main sporting events of 2014 was linked to the European Championships 2020. UEFA has officially confirmed that three games in the group qualifying stage and one match in the play-off are to be held in the Azerbaijani capital. These matches in Baku will become major football competitions in the country's history.

Wrestling 

The year 2014 has been yet another successful one for the Wrestling Federation of Azerbaijan. All in all, Azerbaijani wrestlers won 65 medals - 27 gold, 22 silver and 16 bronze. Of these, the junior wrestlers won 28 (13 gold, nine silver and six bronze), which they brought back from the World and European championships and II Youth Olympic Games. The successful performances of the young wrestlers are also worthy of mention. 

After winning 10 gold, five silver and five bronze World and European Championship medals, they have gone on to perpetuate last year's successes. The adult team added 17 medals (four gold, eight silver and five bronze) to the total winnings. The top sportsman in this type of sport was Hazi Aliyev, who became the European and World Champion in 2014.

Gymnastics 

Last year was a successful one for the Azerbaijani Gymnastics Federation as well. The opening of the National Gymnastics' Arena was a particularly noteworthy event. The conditions created at that arena are appropriate for the conducting of local and international competitions in six types of gymnastics. It is no accident that sportspeople from different continents come here to coach and train their teams. After organising a test-tournament for the Azerbaijani championships in artistic gymnastics in June, the European Championships in this type of sport were held here. Experts and the management of the European Union of Gymnastics gave the competitions a high assessment.

The Academy of the International Federation of Gymnastics for Trainers has also been set up in Baku.

This year our gymnasts continued to make us happy with their successful performances. Thus, the rhythmic gymnastics junior team became bronze award winners in the European championship in the team rating for the first time.

The adult sportswomen were not far behind them, also winning silver medals for the first time in performances with three ribbons ad two balls.

Anna Pavlova, who won the silver in the vaulting, won the first medal for Azerbaijan in the women's sporting gymnastics in the European Championships. Besides this, she won Azerbaijan's first medal in a regular stage of the World Cup in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana in performances on the parallel bars. 

Oleg Stepko won the first medal in the World Cup sporting gymnastics competitions for men. At the competitions held in the Croatian town of Osijek he took third place for his performance on the parallel bars. The Azerbaijani aerobics team also won a bronze medal for the first time at the World Cup in the town of Vorobec (Bulgaria). In Portugal Oleg Puinov and Ilya Grishunin managed to make the third step on the podium of honour, after winning medals in the World Cup competitions. 

All in all, the gymnasts won 114 medals in 2014 - 42 gold, 30 silver and 42 bronze, the greater part being won for artistic gymnastics. The Azerbaijani flag was raised most of all in honour of Jala Piriyeva and Marina Durunda. With more gold medals to her name than anyone else, Marina Durunda was chosen as the envoy for the European Games. Azerbaijan's main artistic gymnastics' team completed the year in third place in the team ratings for the mixed events of the International Federation of Gymnastics.

Next year competitions in six types of gymnastics await us at the European Games, as well as World and European championships and other contests. 

Boxing 

There were no World and European championships for men this year. The most memorable attainment was in the women's boxing, where Yelena Vistropova became European champion and won the bronze medal at the World Championship.

Volleyball 

The women's national team of Azerbaijan performed successfully at the World Championship. Managing to get through the qualifiers, the girls obtained the right to play in the second round of the qualifying stages. The team ended up in 15th place, but was regarded as playing well. 

Taekwondo 

The youth team attained a number of successes in this type of sport. Our sportsmen managed to get a good result at the Grand Prix tournament. Radik Isayev, who won the gold medal at the European Championship among the adults, achieved the greatest success.

Judo 

At the World Championship held in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk the Azerbaijani team suffered a fiasco. Headed by Haciaga Haciahmadov, the Azerbaijani team returned home without any awards. At the European Championship for Para-Olympians Ilham Zakiyev was awarded the gold medal for the fifth time.

Sambo 

In this type of sport, which has been included in the European Games' programme, our sportsmen achieved the greatest success at the World Championship where Amil Qasimov (74 kg) and Agasaf Samadov (52 kg) won silver medals, and Emil Hasanov (68 kg) became a bronze medallist.

Chess 

At the European Cup, the "SOCAR-Azerbaijan" chess club had the pleasure of becoming champions, winning all seven games, Sahriyar Mammadyarov won the Mikhail Tal Memorial Rapid Chess Tournament. At the World Mind Games in Beijing, Teymur Racabov won the silver and bronze medals. After starting off the Chess Olympiad successfully, the Azerbaijani team ultimately won fifth place. But this was the best result in the team's history.

Motor racing competitions 

Organised by the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation, the VI Challenge Azerbaijan competition with its extremely high speeds and unusual stunts gave the spectators something really exciting to watch. The Ministry of Youth and Sport has signed a contract on holding Formula-1 competitions in Baku. Thus, Azerbaijan itself will become the second country after Russia on the territory of the former Soviet Union to host Formula-1 races.

Karate 

Azerbaijani karatekas attained their first major success of 2014 at the European Championship for adults in the Finnish city of Tampere. In the competitions for individual kumite [free-style sparring] Sahin Atamov (84 kg) and Niyazi Aliyev (67 kg) won silver medals, while Nurlana Aliyeva (50 kg) became a bronze medallist. As a result, Azerbaijan took fourth place among the medal-winning countries. In the team competitions, Azerbaijani karatekas reached the highest step on the podium, after beating all their rivals.

THE BEST SPORTSMEN AND TEAMS IN AZERBAIJAN BY 2014 RESULTS

(ACCORDING TO THE FIGURES OF THE MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORT)

The best team of the year

Azerbaijan's women's volleyball team

The best football team

"Qarabag"

The "golden" 10 sportsmen

Hazi Aliyev (free-style wrestling, European and World champion)

Mariya Stadnik (women's wrestling, bronze medallist at the World Championships and European champion)

Yelena Vistropova (boxing, bronze-medallist at the World Championship and European champion)

Eduard Mammadov (kickboxing, World and European champion)

Marina Durunda (artistic [rhythmic] gymnastics, bronze medallist at the World Cup)

Xetag Gazumov (free-style wrestling, silver medal winner at the World and European championships)

Radik Isayev (taekwondo, European champion)

Farid Mailov (kung fu, World and European champion)

Rasul Cunayev (wrestling, bronze medallist in the World and European championships)

Elmar Qasimov (judo, silver medallist in the European championship)