A CENTIMETRE AWAY FROM VICTORY

The first European Games, which are being held in Azerbaijan, have already reached the halfway stage. Although most of the events are being held in Baku, Mingacevir has been the host for the canoeing and kayak races. A total of 15 sets of medals are up for grabs in Mingacevir.

The main contenders at the Kur base were the Hungarians who won five gold and bronze medals in various rowing disciplines. Second in the team event was Germany (3-3-1) with Belarus (3-0-2) third.

Azerbaijan's main hope in the rowing was world champion Valentin Demyanenko and he justified expectations by winning a silver medal in the 200m canoe sprint. Demyanenko won the preliminary stage with 38.978 seconds, thus qualifying for the final, bypassing the semi-final stage. In the final Demyanenko finished in 40.12 seconds, winning the silver, just 0.078 of a second behind the gold medallist, the Lithuanian Henrikas Zustautas. The Czech Martin Fuksa was third. Another Azerbaijani representative, Mirnazim Cavadov, finished seventh in the 200m canoe with a time of 37.492 seconds.

In an interview for R+ the silver medallist of the first European Games, Valentin Demyanenko, said the competition in Mingacevir was of a high standard: "The standard of the tournament was extremely high. Like the other rowers, I also wanted a European Games medal. I set myself a target and I achieved it, although I could have done better. But ending up with a silver wasn't bad, either."

He said that winning a European Games medal was not particularly a surprise. "We try to be among the medals at every competition. Rowing is on the upsurge now in Azerbaijan. It may be that some people didn't expect the rowers to win medals at the Games, but we have taken part in many world and European championships, so we have a lot of experience," said Demyanenko, who now has world and European championship medals.

However, he said that he failed to win a gold at the European Games because of a small error and making a miscalculation. "200 metres is a sprint where micro-seconds count. I was literally a centimetre away from a gold metal. The winner, Henrikas Zastautas, is a very talented rower. He is only 20. I am sure we shall meet again in the future and I will have the chance to get my revenge. I don't deny that I expected a gold, so to some extent I was disappointed just to get a silver. Being a champion is quite a different feeling, and I wanted to experience that at Mingacevir," the Azerbaijani rower said.

He also had this to say about his team colleagues' failure to win medals: "Anything can happen in sport. Our rowing team is pretty strong, but still it didn't get a medal. I wanted us all to win and be happy with our result, but to win you have to be patient. I believe that a strong generation of rowers will grow up in Azerbaijan."

Demyanenko also pointed out the high level of organization of the events: "Everything was perfect, although I didn't expect that. The best conditions were created for all the rowers at Mingacevir. Everyone was happy. There is a real sporting atmosphere in the country. All we want is success. The European Games will give a boost to the development of all the sports in the programme."

The President of the Azerbaijani Rowing Federation, Elcin Zeynalov, was happy with the results of the competition. He said that Demyanenko should improve on his result at the 2016 summer Olympics: "Staging the rowing events in Mingacevir is of great importance for the region. A lot of fans came from the local districts. I would like to thank all the spectators who supported our rowers. The silver medal won by Demyanenko was received with great enthusiasm. Rowing events are only just developing in our country so I was satisfied with the result. Demyanenko was unable to achieve his dream about a gold, but winning a silver and the performance by our four rowers in the finals was a good result." He said that in August the rowers will be taking part in the world championship, which will be a qualifying event for the summer Olympics. "I expect not just Demyanenko, but the whole team to qualify. We really want to win an Olympic medal, and the time has come for this," Zeynalov said.