THE IRON FACTOR FOR BODY BUILDERS

Azerbaijan's national body building team has reconfirmed its status as the strongest team in the region, having won the South Caucasus Cup in Rustavi (Georgia). At the contest attended by teams from Georgia and Armenia, our body builders gave a real master class and demonstrated the standards that have to be achieved. These standards are behind our sportsmen's considerable success in the international arena.

Warm reception in Rustavi

Unlike the three previous contests, this time the organizers of the South Caucasus Cup decided to hold the contest in Rustavi. The move was totally justified, especially as many Azerbaijanis living in Georgia came to support our team. Our athletes set the pace onstage, winning all four weight categories. The four Azerbaijani participants - the two-time European champion Yalcin Mammadov (80 kg), Euro-2007 finalist Rovsan Quliyev (90 kg), three-time European champion Vuqar Verdiyev (+90 kg) and world championship finalist Farhad Quliyev celebrated victories in classical body building. Emphasising their dominance, these four athletes fought for victory in the overall category, in which the favourite was team leader Vuqar Verdiyev (90 kg), recent winner of a silver medal at the European championship.

The contest was extremely significant as it reinforced the high status of our national team. Many body building fans in Georgia who remembered the previous performances of our athletes in the South Caucasus Cup, came to see the Azerbaijani team, who put on a real show and captivated the audience.

Sharing his impressions of the results of the tournament, the President of the National Federation, Rauf Bunyadaliyev, admitted that our team was at such a high level that the contest was of a slightly different nature. "Azerbaijan has become a kind of standard and starting point for the region, which will stimulate the development of the sport in the whole of the South Caucasus. There was no opposition here - Azerbaijani body building was unanimously acknowledged to be the leader of the region. When you achieve such a level of development, you always want to have some external outlet and get something in return from body building fans. Why have we held national contests outside Baku in recent years? Because the audience in the country's regions is more grateful. The spectator wants to see something beautiful, and we witnessed in Rustavi the scenes seen at home recently - an army of fans rushing towards our body builders with one aim - to have their photo taken and to thank them. It means a lot to a sportsman - that a body builder has been able to assert himself," Bunyadaliyev pointed out.

"Silver" from Novi Sad

Incidentally, the trip to Rustavi was preceded by a trip to the European championship in Novi Sad (Bulgaria) where Vuqar Verdiyev won a silver medal. Although the team got through the preliminary rounds without loss, and all six athletes made it to the finals, they had the right to expect better results. Besides, the consistency of the national team in recent years shows that our body builders are always among the favourites to win medals.

Bunyadaliyev pointed out that the results of the contest caused gave him mixed feelings. "If we felt happy and proud of our performance in the early stages, from which our athletes made it into the final, the final results are somewhat disappointing, be-cause the level of our guys' preparedness and their determination to take the top places allowed us to be more optimistic. Discussions about refereeing have already set our teeth on edge, but as a category A international referee with experience in world and European championships, I can say the following: Vuqar Verdiyev should have become European champion, just as Yalcin Mammadov (70 kg) could have come second, not fifth. Mohammad Pasha'i (90 kg), who took fifth place, should not have been lower than fourth. As for Farhad Quliyev, who performed in classical body building and Hamid Reza Keshani (100 kg), they were rightfully placed fourth, thinks Bunyadaliyev.

He was especially exasperated by the situation surrounding Yalcin Mammadov. Many specialists and referees who familiarized themselves with the final results approached him and expressed their outrage. They said: "How come Yalcin came fifth if he was the best in the category? It is clear when you take second or third place, but fifth place causes a somewhat different reaction than mere disappointment. So in this sense we were very disappointed. Of course, Verdiyev also hoped for "gold". It is notable that the President of the International and European Associations, Rafael Santonja, who did not know about the final marks from the referees, invited me to the ceremony to present the final three weight categories - up to 90, up to 100 and +100 kg. As I walked up the stage, I noticed the winners' diplomas out of the corner of my eye - I only saw that first place had been given to the former world champion from Slovakia, Peter Tatarka. I did not know then what position Verdiyev had taken. When they both remained on the stage, Vuqar was full of emotion, hope and excitement, and I realized that he would be second," Bunyadaliyev said.

Starring Vuqar Verdiyev

The President of the National Federation touched on the subject of Vuqar separately. Incidentally, according to last year's results, he occupies third place in the European Federation's rankings, regardless of categories. "Every sportsman has status according to his achievements in the international arena and also his personal status. So, Verdiyev ranks highest in this sense. Every weighing procedure becomes an improvised show for Verdiyev - participants in the championship have their photo taken with him and express their sympathy with him because Vuqar is a real star. Perhaps it is wrong to say this about an active sportsman, but I must say it. He is a representative of our body building school and, when an Azerbaijani body builder has such a high international rating, authority and respect, it is always a pleasure. Incidentally, the European Federation publishes the rankings of the best European athletes every year and, according to last season's results, Vuqar is third in the rankings. Farhad Quliyev is tenth in classical body building performance, which means quite a lot," Bunyadaliyev said.

At the same time, he has already developed a strategy to prepare for the home world championship of 2010. While our team is usually one of the favourites to win awards at European championships, competition at the world championship will be much stiffer. "I have already made a decision on this issue, on the basis of which the next 18 months will be quite sparing of our athletes. We will go to the next world championship in Doha and the next Euro-2010 with a smaller team of participants. It will probably be Hamid Reza Keshani, who is hungry for competition, preparing for the world championship in Qatar. He is at the beginning of his career in big-time sports, but has already made serious strides. He took fifth place at last year's European championship, and now he has taken fourth place. According to the federation's plan, all our leading competitors will be preparing for the world championship in Baku. Competition will be extremely tough, and we have no intention of being hospitable on the stage - in other cases, no problem - but not on the stage. We are aiming for good results and I am not going to give myself or my sportsmen an easy time. If we decide to host the world championship, we should make our fans happy with our good results. And we will achieve them," Bunyadaliyev said in conclusion.

In a word, new contests lie ahead. Specifically, Rovsan Quliyev will perform at the European veterans' championship, where he has a chance of making it to the final. At the end of the year, Vuqar Verdiyev will perform at the prestigious Euro Elite Tour, which traditionally brings together the strongest body builders vying for the title of strongest sportsman in the open weight category. So our body builders will not be bored. Time passes quickly and this means that we already have to shape the form we should be in by the world championship.