TWO MEDALS AND TWO LICENSES

The European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship held in Guadalajara, Spain was doubly successful for Azerbaijan. The national team finished the continental championship with two medals and two licenses for the European Games scheduled for 2019 in Minsk.

Successful performance of Azerbaijani gymnasts at one of the most prestigious competitions of the year marked a new page in the history of national sports. Traditionally, the favourites of any competition in rhythmic gymnastics are Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. Therefore, struggling against the national teams of these countries trying to be in the top three is not an easy task. Nevertheless, our athletes demonstrated strong-willed struggle in Guadalajara and adequately defended the prestige of national sport. Musical accompaniment as well as professional performance of the most difficult elements fascinated both the spectators and rivals of our team.

In individual juniors program, Arzu Jalilova became the third with her performance with ball (17.00 points). This was the highest result to date in her career. Only the athletes from Russia and Ukraine were stronger than Arzu.

Narmina Samedova, who performed in the finals with a hoop and maces, took the 5^th and 8^th places, respectively. Yelizaveta Lizan, who also qualified for the finals in exercises with ribbon, became the sixth.

In competitions among adults, Zohra Agamirova and Veronica Gudis represented Azerbaijan. Zohra took the 18^th place and became eligible for the European Games of 2019. Veronica Gudis became the 22^nd strongest athlete in this category with 61.250 points in total of four exercises.

Azerbaijani national team won another bronze medal in group exercises demonstrating a beautiful composition with three balls and two rods. With 20.350 points, the magnificent five of Aliya Pashayeva, Siyana Vasileva, Diana Doman, Aishan Bayramova and Zeynab Hummetova rose to the third stage of the podium. Thus, the Azerbaijani national team in group exercises also won the right to participate in the European Games in Belarus.

The head coach of the national team Mariana Vasileva commented the performance of the team at the European Championship in her interview with Region Plus.

“The European Championship is one of the biggest annual competitions. The strongest teams of Europe fight here. Winning two bronze medals in such a prestigious competition is an excellent result. Also, the fact that we have two licences (maximum permissible for one country) indicates a high level of performance of our girls. I am very pleased with the results. Major competitions are waiting for us in the near future. Therefore, we must work harder,” Vasileva said.

M. Vasileva noted that the medals won in Spain are the result of conditions created for the national team and thanked the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, President of the National Gymnastics Federation Mehriban Aliyeva for this accomplishment.

Captain of the national team Siyana Vasileva also shared her impressions with us. She highly appreciated the bronze medals won at the European Championships: “I congratulate all fans of gymnastics. We thank the leadership of our federation and coaches. A bronze medal in such a difficult competition as the European Championships is a great achievement.”

Aishan Bayramova told us about her excitement after the performance in the finals. “It is very difficult to explain our enjoyment in Spain. The minutes before the announcement of our results in the finals seemed like an eternity. When we saw our points, we felt like the happiest people in the world. Winning a bronze medal in such a prestigious competition as the European Championships is a great achievement,” Aishan said.

Aliya Pashayeva supported the opinion of her teammate. This is the fourth continental championship in her career: “It is the second time in my career that I was awarded a bronze medal. Once again, I congratulate our whole team. We are very pleased to represent Azerbaijan with dignity.”

Baku will soon host yet another prestigious competition. On July 23, the National Gymnastics Arena will host the qualification tournament in gymnastics. We will know the names of athletes qualified for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires (October 6-18, 2018). It is expected that 52 men and 44 women from 32 countries take part in the competition to struggle for the licences of the most prestigious tournament. Men will compete in the age category 16-17, and women - 15 years. Athletes who take the first 17 places according to the results of qualification rounds in the all-round events will get a ticket to Buenos Aires. Only one gymnast can get a license from each country. Azerbaijan will be represented by Samira Gahramanova, Aghamurad Gahramanov and Samad Mammadli.