BEIJING ON THE STARTING LINE

The Olympics will start on 8 August and, soon, the Azerbaijani national team will set out to conquer Beijing. What can we expect from the forthcoming games, what results can the team count on and how prepared is it for the main quadrennial contest? Only competition results will answer this question. Nevertheless, we can already draw some conclusions.

Forty-four

The national team has been preparing for Games 2008 for more than four years. In fact preparations began immediately after the Athens Olympics. Forty-four sportsmen have already won the right to participate in this prestigious contest, which is six more than in Athens. Two years ago, the Azerbaijani President, and head of the National Olympic Committee, Ilham Aliyev, issued a decree on preparing the national team for Games 2008. A list of 12 priority sports was identified and the main stress was placed on their representation during selection for the Olympic Games. The minimum task was accomplished in 11 disciplines in which Azerbaijan will be represented in Beijing. R+ reported earlier that they are freestyle (men and women) and Greco-Roman wrestlers, Tae Kwon Doe fighters, trap and skeet shooters, judo fighters, weight lifters, gymnasts, boxers, athletes and swimmers.

However, there are also sports that did not live up to our expectations. "We hoped that our bronze-winner in shooting at the Athens Olympics, Irada Asumova, would be able to make her way to the Olympics again, especially as qualifying tournaments in shooting were the first to start. However, she failed to achieve the required result and will not go to Beijing. We may also be displeased with the performance of our famous Olympic champion in trap and skeet shooting, Zemfira Meftaheddinova, but we should not forget that she recently became a mother. She needed time to re-establish her form and her latest results show that she is returning to her previous condition. Being aware of the talent of national team coach, Hafiz Cafarov, we can expect our shooter to go to Beijing in top form," said head of the sports department of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, Mirkamil Rahimov. There was also every reason to suppose that our boxing team would go to the Olympics in larger numbers because, in Athens, our boxers were represented in nine weight categories. But this time our national team managed to win only two places, thanks to the efforts of Samir Mammadov (51 kg) and Sahin Imranov (57 kg).

Compulsory doping tests

At the same time, the situation in the wrestling team is pleasing because our wrestlers have won 16 places with their combined efforts. "Although our national team sometimes includes foreigners, there is an explanation for this. Wresting is developing rapidly and, over the last three years, the rules have changed three times. Due to the situation in their wresting schools, some countries have adapted more quickly. It is also pleasing that most of the Greco-Roman wrestlers who won places are home-grown sportsmen. In this respect, we would like to note the contribution of the national team's main coach, Elcin Cafarov, while the successful performance of our teams in youth tournaments shows that worthy successors to our well-known leaders are already being developed. The results of the national wrestling team speak for themselves - our 'classical' wrestlers will be represented in Beijing in six of the seven weight categories, women in three and 'freestylers' in all seven," Rahimov stressed.

In order to prepare for the Olympics, the Ministry of Youth and Sports was given six million manats from the state budget. Then another three million were allocated for the performance of the team in the Games, for holding an Azerbaijan Day in Beijing and for providing the athletes with everything they need and so on. So none of the sports was left without money and 20,000 manats were allocated for each discipline.

The issue of acclimatization ahead of the Games is up to the coaches and, for this reason, two flights have been organized. But the national judo team is planning to go to Beijing not from Baku, but from Kazakhstan, where it will carry out its preliminary acclimatization, since this country is close to China. Take the gymnasts - they intend to get to China from Japan. The weight lifters were also planning to arrive just before competition but, according to the rules, they have to be in Beijing eight days before the Games, due to doping tests.

Predictions and reality

"Today the state is giving special attention to the development of sports in Azerbaijan and preparations for and participation in the Olympic Games. All issues related to the training of national teams, their equipment and medicines are solved almost immediately. Now it is time for the athletes to respond, but we should not forget that predicting sports results is a thankless task. There are nuances here as well and they are related to the psychology and form of a sportsman in the Olympic Games and simple sporting luck. If you remember, boxer Sahin Imranov was confidently beating Russia Aleksandr Tishchenko in Athens, but fell one step short of the prize when he cut his eyebrow at the end of the fight. Meftaheddinova's example is also fresh. She went to Games 2000 on a wild card, but became Olympic champion. But statistics show that our results in the Games are improving - whereas in Atlanta-96, we had one silver, in Sydney we won two golds and one bronze, in Athens the number of medals reached five - one gold and four bronze. So we have to try and repeat this result," believes Rahimov.

In turn, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov stressed that he never makes predictions, but believes that the Azerbaijani national team will participate successfully in the Olympics. Talking about the team's chances in the Olympics, the minister observed that the wrestlers did very well in qualifiers, as they won 16 places thanks to the efforts of the "freestylers", "classics" and women. "Our heroes have always participated successfully in the Games and I hope that they will make us happy again," the minister stressed. He also said that the judo players have good chances and so do the boxers, for example, championship bronze-winner Samir Mammadov (54 kg). "I believe very much in Camal Rahimov, who has made considerable progress in the equestrian sport in recent years. Of course, predictions are a thankless task in sports, but I think that Camal will perform with credit in Beijing," Rahimov added. The minister also mentioned Sydney Olympic champion Zemfira Meftaheddinova.

Rahimov also crossed the t's and dotted the i's with regard to competition in the 55 kg category between the "freestylers" Namiq Abdullayev and Namiq Sevdimov. As we know, Sevdimov, who won a place and beat Abdullayev in the final of FILA's Golden Grand Prix, will go to Beijing. "We have no right to intervene in this issue. It is the coach who decides everything and determines the composition of the team. Yes, the Olympic champion Namiq Abdullayev will go to Beijing, but only as a tourist," said Rahimov.

The minister also said that the reward for a medal won in the Games will increase, compared with the Olympic Games in Athens. "Whereas before money rewards were counted in dollars, now they will be counted in manats," he stressed.