BEIJING FORECASTS

Most members of the Azerbaijani national Olympic team have already been chosen, with only the last few slots to be filled. So it is time now to deliberate on the chances of our sportsmen's success in Beijing, where the Games will open in less than one month. So, what should we expect from the team at the main games of the four year cycle?

Sixteen athletes

When realistic candidates for medals are discussed, wrestlers, boxers and judo men come first to mind, especially as Azerbaijani sportsmen have traditionally performed well at the Olympic Games, bringing home medals of different colour. This is particularly true of the wrestlers, who will go to China with an impressive 16-strong team of freestyle wrestlers, Greco-Roman wrestlers and women. The greatest attention will be focused on the Greco-Roman wrestlers, especially as Athens Olympics winner Farid Mansurov (66 kilograms) and European champion Rovsan Bayramov (55 kilograms) will perform. During the selection of sportsmen for Beijing, some sceptics rashly dismissed Farid as a veteran, because he suffered from a back injury for two years. But his very first appearance at the 2007 World Championship in Baku proved that Mansurov can still handle the toughest challenges. At all events, his victory in his native land impressed many specialists and, given the athlete's class, it can be said with certainty that he is one of the main candidates for an Olympic gold medal.

In the meantime, the recent finals of the FILA Grand Prix in Baku helped to finalize the composition of the Olympic wrestling team. And while the coaches of the Greco-Roman style and women's teams published the names of participants in advance, the composition of the freestyle team was to be determined upon completion of the event. Especially as in wrestling, Olympic places are not reserved for particular athletes; instead, quotas are given to national federations in each weight category. That is why, theoretically, an athlete who performed well in qualification events may still not be selected. This is why the weight category of up to 55 kilograms was the subject of attention, as Namiq Sevdimov, who achieved qualification requirements at the selection tournament, and Sydney Olympic Games champion Namiq Abdullayev both vied for the trip to Beijing. Thus it was logical that the final contest was all-Azerbaijani and the younger contender won. Sevdimov proved to be stronger than his more titled opponent over the two halves of the contest and effectively secured his place in the Olympic team.

Two boxers

There are hopes in boxing too, although, in contrast to Athens where 10 Azerbaijani boxers participated, only two will go to Beijing. But this is precisely a case when quality, not quantity is what matters, given the progress that Samir Mammadov has made at 54 kilograms. In recent years he won a silver medal at the European championship, then a bronze at the qualifying world championship in Chicago and he also won the AIBA President Cup Tournament. And although the Olympic Games will be much more difficult to win than these events, Samir is seen as a potential winner in Beijing. Head of the national boxing federation, Agacan Abiyev, confirmed these views by noting that the boxer has the potential to show himself to good advantage at the Olympic Games

Six judo wrestlers

The judo wrestlers are closer to Olympic medals than ever before and their trip to the Olympic Games may prove to be an historic one, if only because the Azerbaijani team will be represented by as many as six athletes for the first time in history, so the chance of winning medals is higher. The team is an alloy of youth and experience and Elnur Mammadli is clearly its leader. In the last two years, this sportsman has travelled a road which sometimes takes decades. In 2006, he sensationally won the European championship; a year later he took the silver medal at the world championship, and is now very close to an Olympic medal. So Elnur plans to make his dream come true in Beijing and be, at least, among the top three competitors in his weight category.

One trap-shooter

It would be wrong to limit our Olympic expectations to just these three sports, especially as in other disciplines we also have sportsmen who are capable of "shooting it out" - in both senses of the word.  Of course we mean Sydney Olympic trap-shooting champion, Zemfira Meftaxetdinova. As in Sydney, this athlete earned her chance to perform in Beijing via a wild-card, because she failed to earn her place on her own. But this did not hinder her from winning her gold medal eight years ago, so the analogy is clear. And if we add to that Zemfira's bronze in Athens, it will be seen that she performs well at the Olympic Games

One weightlifter

We pin our hopes on weightlifters too, in particular, on titled Nizami Pasayev. However, it remains unclear in what shape he will be for the Olympic Games, given his two-year disqualification. At any rate, he is keen to perform and intends to prove that his claims to an Olympic medal are justified

One Taekwondo fighter

Taekwondo fighter Rasad Axmedov (over 80 kg), who was just one step from the final in Athens and then lost the match for the bronze medal too, is also eager to win an Olympic medal. In short, our athlete's motivation is strong, and only the Games will show whether our expectations can be realised.

Only "clean" sportsmen

In the mean time, the teams are not only assembling at their training centres for the final phase of preparations, but are also taking doping tests to be absolutely clean for the main sporting event of the four-year cycle. Before leaving for China, the national team should pass doping controls three times in Azerbaijan. This initiative comes from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which has created an Anti-Doping Department. The head of the main sports department of the ministry, Mirkamil Rahimov, noted that the decision was timely and was necessary to ensure that Azerbaijani sportsmen represent their country at the Olympic Games in a worthy manner. "Not so long ago, our country joined the anti-doping convention, having thereby assumed certain obligations. And we should observe them meticulously," said Rahimov.

The ministry's initiative was also prompted by the situation that has developed in Azerbaijani sports: in recent years, several Azerbaijani sportsmen were added at the same time to the black lists of the World Anti-Doping Agency. And these were athletes who had already made names for themselves in the international arena. The examples of world and European weightlifting champion, Nizami Pasayev, whose disqualification will end just before the opening of the Olympic Games, or judo world championship winner Nicat Sixalizada, who has already been caught twice, will suffice. And if the athlete was forgiven the first time on account of his youth, after the second incident Nicat was disqualified for four years. That is why the decision of the Azerbaijani sporting department to administer doping tests to the members of the Olympic team is quite understandable.

The WADA and IOC have declared a merciless war on doping and any sportsman found to have used banned drugs will miss the next Olympic Games. Already eight Chinese sportsmen, including two who were supposed to take part in the Olympic Games, have been disqualified on charges of using doping. Among the sportsmen punished are swimmers, field-and-track, weightlifters, one wrestler and divers. Two of the culprits - swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng and wrestler Luo Meng - were members of the Chinese Olympic team and have been disqualified for life.

The organizers demonstrate that they are serious about the use of doping by participants in the Games. During the 2008 Olympics in China, 41 doping control points will operate, of which 34 will service facilities in Beijing and 7 in other cities of the country where different Olympic events will be held. Specialists will perform blood and urine tests within 24 to 72 hours, depending on the complexity of the test. Overall, 4,500 tests will be carried out during the Olympics, which is almost 1,000 more than during the preceding Olympic Games in Athens.