BIG RACE

In a few days, we are supposed to see the launch of the biggest mass sporting event of the summer—the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games (Konya-2021) to be held in the Turkish city of Konya on August 9-18. The competition should be attended by five thousand athletes from 55 countries.

In 24 sports

Samples of medals to be awarded to the winners of the Islamic Solidarity Games have already been presented to the public community. Athletes will compete for 483 sets of medals in 24 sports. These include shooting, athletics, basketball (3x3), cycling, gymnastics (artistic, aerobics), football, fencing, wrestling, weightlifting, handball, judo, karate, kickboxing, table tennis, etc. Paralympic athletes will compete in track and field, table tennis, archery, bocce and swimming.

Azerbaijan will take part in a prestigious competition with a large line-up of athletes. The athletes, who will be represented in all sports, are completing their preparations for the competition. Thus, ten athletes—Vezir Allahverdiyev, Nihad Mammadov, Emin Mammadov, Adil Ahmedzade, Ibrahim Ansari, Aliverdi Shahgeldiyev, Nazaket Garayeva, Laman Abdulhamidova, Zemfira Mikailova and Marziya Nurmetova—will soon finish their last table-tennis training sessions at the Gakh Olympic Sports Complex under the guidance of head coach Mikhail Timofeyev and head coach Farhad Ismayilov. At the training camp the athletes improve their physical, technical and tactical skills.

The first competition of the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games will be in handball. Azerbaijan men's handball team is trained by head coach Nasser Salimi and his assistant Vidadi Aliyev. The national team has been in Georgia since July 22 to play some friendly matches against local teams. The rivals of Azerbaijani handball players at the upcoming tournament are also known. According to the draw, our team will play against the teams of Türkiye and Iran in Group B.

Azerbaijani kickboxers will join the Islamic Solidarity Games on August 16. Currently they are at the training camp in Balakan. The team will consist of 24 athletes and is currently preparing to fight in Konya in lou kick and full contact versions of kickboxing.

President of the Azerbaijan Kickboxing Federation Orkhan Aliyev expects medals from all team members: "Thee will also be a strong line-up of athletes from brotherly Türkiye. Usually, athletes from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan demonstrate quite successful performance at all kickboxing competitions. Our national team is also known over the world for its prominent kickboxers. That’s why we can expect that Azerbaijani athletes will be among the first troika of the best".

In gymnastics, the Azerbaijani team will try to win medals in both individual and group exercises. Our winners of European Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics are among favourites of the Islamic Games.

More than 400 athletes

The competitions will be held at 13 sports complexes in Türkiye. The opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on August 9. The Azerbaijani delegation will take a charter flight on August 5. More than 400 people will compete in Konya. There are many titled athletes in the line-up. It is expected that the Azerbaijani team with experienced athletes can be among the top three in the ranking of national teams.

Initially, the Islamic Solidarity Games were slated for August 20-29, 2021. But since the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo were postponed from summer 2020 to 2021 and to avoid the busy schedule of sports federations and athletes, it was decided to hold the Konya-2021 Islamic Games on September 10-19, 2021. Then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the Games were postponed again to August 9-18, 2022.

The first Islamic Solidarity Games were held in Saudi Arabia. Azerbaijan hosted the 4th Games. The Azerbaijani team finished first in Baku with 75 gold, 50 silver and 37 bronze medals, followed by Türkiye (71 gold medals) and Iran (39 gold medals).