BRONZE EQUAL TO GOLD

Yet again, the national gymnastics arena in Baku brought together the world's leading athletes. During the Novruz, it became the meeting point of men and women athletes fighting for the World Cup. 85 men and 35 women from 23 countries attended the competitions held in the capital of Azerbaijan for the second time.

The qualification stages were held during the first two days followed by the finals on individual gym equipment. Pursuant to the new Olympic rules effective since 2017, men and women fought for six and four sets of medals, respectively.

Since 2015, the World Cup gymnastics stages have been traditionally held in Baku. The organization of high-level large-scale international competitions encourages the development of various types of gymnastics in the country significantly and contributes to the growing number of fans. The next stage of the series was attended by many fans, who witnessed a tense struggle reflecting the strength, grace and will to win.

Olympics champions Eleftherios Petrunas (Greece), Christian Berki (Hungary), Olympic silver medalist Philip Ude (Croatia) and European champion Alexander Shatulov (Israel) demonstrated their skills at the World Cup, along with Azerbaijani athletes. Famous gymnasts represented the women as well: the Olympic champions Catalina Ponor (Romania) and Oksana Chusovitina, who represented Uzbekistan.

Along with the high level of organization, the competition was also remembered by successful performance of the Azerbaijani gymnast Marina Nekrasova. She pleased the fans by winning a bronze medal in floor exercises. With 12.833 points scored in the finals, Marina Nekrasova outstripped her nearest persecutor - Greek gymnast Ioanna Sulogini by 0.2 points. Romanian gymnast Catalina Ponor was awarded the gold medal (13.433 points), and Australian Emily Little (13.400) won silver.

In her interview with Region Plus, the bronze medalist of the World Cup, Marina Nekrasova, emphasized the role of her coaches and the Federation: "I am glad that I won a bronze medal at the World Cup in artistic gymnastics in Baku. I did my best. Frankly, I was a little nervous doing the exercise on the log. I could do it better. I am obliged to my coaches and the Federation, who have invested a lot to my bronze medal as well. I express my gratitude to them for their support. I am preparing to the European Championship and the Islamic Solidarity Games."

Young athlete Murad Agharzayev also demonstrated good performance but missed just a few points to get a medal of the World Cup. In a worthy fight against the most titled athletes of the continent, Agharzayev confirmed that he was a promising athlete. Although the coaches highly appreciated his performance, Murad expressed his dissatisfaction with the result: "I promised myself to do everything to raise the flag of Azerbaijan. Everyone supported me, they waited for good results. Unfortunately, I could not justify their hopes. I cannot be satisfied with my achievement, since I did not win a medal. The World Cup was the biggest competition in my career. The strongest gymnasts arrived in Baku. Fighting them to the finals was not so easy. I dream of winning in May a medal in the Islamic Solidarity Games. I am ready to work for this all day long."

The famous sportsmen, who participated in the competitions, as well as the officials of the International Gymnastics Federation, expressed their gratitude to the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation for the highest level of organization of the World Cup. In an interview with R +, the Secretary General of the Federation, Vice President of the European Gymnastic Union Farid Gayibov expressed satisfaction with the results: "Since its establishment 15 years ago, the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation has reached such a level that other countries use our experience. The satisfaction of our guests and gymnasts is the highest appreciation of our work. We will continue to hold similar competitions in the future. For we have all necessary conditions. We will try to do something new every time."

Farid Gayibov also congratulated Azerbaijani gymnastics fans with the bronze medal of Marina Nekrasova: "We have been waiting for this. A lot of effort was invested for her successful performance at the World Cup. I congratulate everyone - their work has not been in vain. I'm proud of our gymnasts."

F. Gayibov noted Nekrasova won her medal at the last moment, which reminded him of the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship held in Minsk in 2015: "At that time, our gymnast Marina Durunda also won the medal at the very last minute."

The Secretary General said that the next sports festival would be the World Cup in rhythmic gymnastics, which will be held in Baku on April 28-30: "The National Gymnastic Arena will be at the disposal of the masters. We are waiting for the fans of the most beautiful sport and we hope for the successful performance of our gymnasts."

In her interview with R+, the gold medalist of the Olympic Games listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her participation in seven Olympics, Oksana Chusovitina, said that she was pleasantly surprised: "I can congratulate the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation. The competition was held at the highest level. The national gymnastics arena is one of the best sports complexes in the world. And I mean it. I'm 42 years old and I took part in many tournaments. I can say that the World Cup was organized at the level of the World Cup. Baku has become much more beautiful. The ancient city seems to be a mixture of the past with modernity. I fell in love with Baku even more. Your city became home to all athletes."