FIRST ON THE CONTINENT

One of the top teams at the first European games Baku-2015 was the Azerbaijani Taekwondo team. In winning three gold, one silver and one bronze, Azerbaijan was the best among the 13 teams that won medals at the Games. Second was the United Kingdom, with three medals, including two gold, which was enough to overcome its rivals. Russia won the same number of medals as Azerbaijan. In the final bouts the Russians opposed the Azerbaijanis three times and only once did they prevail. Overall, of the 13 countries to win medals, only five had the pleasure of being champion.

Of Azerbaijan's Taekwondo athletes, Ayxan Tagizada (68 kg), Milad Beihi Harchegani (80 kg) and Radik Isayev (+80 kg) finished the Games as champions. Defeated in the final, Farida Azizova won a silver and Patimat Abakarova had to be satisfied with bronze.

The most impressive achievement was, without doubt, the great success of the young Ayxan Tagizada. Beating all his rivals in the 68-kg class, the European Junior champion was the discovery of the European Games. On his way to a gold, Tagizada beat the Olympic and twice world and European champion, Joel Gonzalez Bonilla (Spain), as well as Olympic, world and European championship medallist, the Russian Aleksey Denisenko.

"The competition in my weight category was extremely tough, so each bout was very difficult. They said that President Ilham Aliyev would be attending the semi-final. I can tell you, it gave me extra strength. The fact that the president had come to support us gave me an even greater sense of responsibility. I could think only about winning. After the final the president phoned me and congratulated me on my victory. This phone call was extremely memorable. The president said that I had given a professional performance. Now I must think about the Olympics, and having qualified for Rio I must leave my mark there. After saying that, I must justify the hopes placed in me," Ayxan Tagizada told R+.

On the other hand, the path to gold for Milad Beigi Harchegani, who appeared in the 80-kg category, was much easier, because this experienced Taekwondo athlete beat most of his opponents by some distance and ahead of time. Immediately after his victory, Harchegani told R+ that he had still not fully taken in the fact that he had won: "I beat all my rivals and became champion. All I feel now is tired because I haven't quite grasped the significance of my success. I told the coaches I would win gold, and I kept my word. Ahead are the Olympics and I am dreaming of worthily representing Azerbaijan at this competition."

World and European champion Radik Isayev won another gold medal for our country. The final bout with the Russian Vladislav Larin, which Isayev won 4-3, was particularly tough. In an interview for R+ Radik Isayev said he had trained very hard for the final: "I wanted to get my revenge on my opponent because I had lost to him twice. Larin is a very scrupulous athlete, who doesn't make many mistakes, which makes it very difficult for his opponent. Anyway, I'm pleased to have beaten him. I thank everyone who has supported me. Now I'm very happy."

The Taekwondo athletes could have won more gold medals. Farida Azizova was a whisker away from a gold medal. After three victories in a row, the Azerbaijani athlete lost in the final by the minimum one point to the Russian, Anastasiya Baryshnikova. Fighting to hold back her tears, Farida said she had lost to the Russian girl before. "I lost to Baryshnikova before. I never seem to do well against her. I am extremely distraught. Losing in the final is very hard. I dreamt of winning a gold medal," the European Games silver-medallist said.   

The performance of the Azerbaijani team at the first European Games, where they won five medals, was a success. The Vice-President of the Azerbaijani Taekwondo Fede-ration, Niyamaddin Pasayev, also said he was satisfied with the result and he believes that further success lies ahead. "The team justified our hopes. Three gold medals shows the strength and level of training of our team. I warned the athletes they should not settle for that. Qualifying tournaments lie ahead. We must also strive for success at the summer Olympics."