AZERBAIJANI GYMNASTS - POETRY IN MOTION

Azerbaijan's national rhythmic gymnastics team has reached a new level, as evidenced by the results of the World Cup in Mia (Japan). The team won bronze medals in the team competition for the second time in a row, while Aliya Qarayeva distinguished herself in the individual programme, taking second place in the ball exercises. So our gymnasts clearly succeeded in the main tournament of the season.

"Silver" Aliya

Aliya opened a new chapter in the history of Azerbaijani gymnastics, becoming our first athlete to win a World Cup medal for an individual performance. Despite stiff competition from gymnasts from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria and other countries, Qarayeva came second in the ball exercises, confirming her class. Note that in the first half of the season Aliya did not perform so convincingly and failed to challenge for an individual award at the European Championship in Baku. However, a few months ago, she performed well at the World Games in Taiwan, winning a bronze medal in the ribbon exercises, and then triumphed in the World Cup. It is interesting that our gymnasts have been particularly successful in exercises with the ball this year - at Euro-2009 Anna Qurbanova took third place, and now the baton has been picked up by Qarayeva. "I did everything I could and as my coaches wanted. Previously, I had made mistakes when performing with the skipping rope. The final exercise with the ball was better, so I took second place," said Aliya.

Anna also contested the medals, getting into several finals with her individual performances, but in the end, she missed out on the podium for individual competitions. She was apparently at her peak at Euro-2009 in Baku because, in Japan, despite her efforts, Anna was unable to fully display all the qualities that earned her a medal at the European championship. This was offset by a bronze award in the team competition for the second time in a row. Having distinguished themselves for the first time in the qualifying world championships in Patras, the team, composed of Qarayeva, Qurbanova, Cavadli and Mustafayeva, continued its triumphant progress in Japan, easing the Ukrainians out of a medal placing. There was a fierce struggle between the teams to the bitter end. Initially, Azerbaijan went ahead, and then Ukraine overtook us, but still our gymnasts won out. As expected, Russia celebrated victory, while second place went to Belarus. "Third place is the achievement of all the girls. Both Anna Qurbanova and Zeynab Cavadli did everything to ensure the team took the highest possible place. There was a fierce struggle between us and the Ukrainian team for the 'bronze'. At one point, we were even in fourth place, but we still managed to win the bronze," Qarayeva said, while sharing her impressions.

Incidentally, World Cup-2009 was held under the new rules recently adopted by the International Federation (FIG). Now the referees evaluate the so-called "risk elements" - super complex elements in which the probability of error is quite high. Whereas previously the gymnasts did these for the pleasure of the public and for themselves, now they will receive the appropriate points for them. Of the eighteen mandatory elements that had to be included in the programme, only twelve remain. Of these, eight are mandatory and the other four have been left to the gymnasts' own discretion. There is also now a third mark of ten points - for the choreography and music, that is, for presentation. In other words, bare equipment without artistry is no longer appropriate. The use of background music, failure to follow the rhythm, unimpressive presentation and so on are strictly punished. So the athletes must find a delicate balance between risk, high baseline assessment and reliable performance.

In turn, the Azerbaijan group team also performed successfully in Japan. The junior team's success at Euro 2009 in Baku was quite memorable. They took third place then, but now "the pace is being set" by the adult team of Vafa Huseynova, Ceyla Quliyeva, Valeria Yegay, Dina Gorina, Anastasia Prasolova and Stefani Trayanova, who came fourth in the all-around events and participated in the two finals. In the competition for three ribbons and two skipping ropes, the team came sixth, and in the final for five hoops they came seventh. For comparison, we should note that at the latest World Cup, in Greece, the team was in the second ten, so there is clear progress. Especially as in recent years, the rivalry between "group teams" has increased dramatically, and many teams that cannot boast of success in individual competitions count on this competition. This, however, does not prevent the Azerbaijani team from improving their results and preparing themselves to the maximum. Behind all these results lie huge efforts by our female athletes who hone new programmes and compositions for months to ensure their place in the sun on the gymnastic Olympus.

Praise from Irina Viner

We should record that Russia's head coach Irina Viner rated our group team highly: "Azerbaijan's team displayed excellent performances! A great coach and ensemble! The whole Russian delegation supported the Azerbaijani gymnasts. Two finals out of two: what could be better?! Good luck and confidence to the Azerbaijani team. Remember there is always a chance. It just needs to be taken properly and in time." 

Indeed, the group team has been quite successful in the recent period, and the success of the adult team combines with the victories of the juniors. In particular, at Euro 2009 in Baku, the junior group team took third place and, in the World Cup final, the adult team proved successful and has great prospects.

Meanwhile, the main star of the world championship in Mia was Olympic champion Yevgeniya Kanayeva, who won gold medals in all four programmes. And then the great Russian gained victory in the all-around, proving her title as the strongest athlete. Our gymnasts also performed in the all-around events - Qarayeva came eighth and Qurbanova ninth. Today Yevgeniya displays simply phenomenal results, proving that she is the best gymnast in the world. And there is no doubt about it, especially given the high marks for her performances. Thus, the Russians regained their position as strongest team in the all-around events - two years ago in Patras success accompanied Anna Bessonova of Ukraine. At the same time, our gymnasts still find it hard to compete for medals in the all-around events at such major competitions where one must perform at least one composition with all four objects. Thus the gymnasts are mainly concentrating on competing for awards in the different types of programmes, and it is bearing fruit.

On the other hand, the championship was a kind of test of strength for the future, because the World Cup was the main competition of the season. Yes, at Euro-2009 in Baku, the struggle for the medals was also bitter, but "world" really does mean the "world". And although all the leading gymnasts are now concentrated in Europe, which sets the pace in this sport, the World Cup, of course, is a very special competition. Now the Azerbaijani "artists" are faced with a difficult task - to maintain at least the level that they reached in Japan. Of course this will not be easy, but the course of events shows that in recent years, the dynamics of our gymnasts' performances have been improving steadily, as a consequence they perform successfully in various competitions. So the gymnasts have all the prerequisites, not only to maintain, but also to build upon their achievements in subsequent competitions. The main thing is not to relax, given the very severe competition. And if Russia remains beyond compare, there is a fierce struggle between Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine for second place. Hence, there is an incentive for further improvement.