LONG-AWAITED OUTCOME

Boxing has a special place in Azerbaijani sport. The list of Azerbaijani holders of leather gloves includes world, European and even Olympic champions and medallists. But the most successful Azerbaijani boxers have always been our male athletes. For many years, only the naturalised legionaries represented Azerbaijan in various women's competitions. Until now Azerbaijani women boxers have not been awarded prizes in prestigious competitions. But from this year that anti-record is a history. It was Aynur Rzayeva that inscribed her name in the history of national boxing. 

At the Women's World Boxing Championship held in New Delhi, India, Aynur (+81 kg) advanced to the semi-final, defeating—by the unanimous decision of referees (30:27, 29:28, 30:27, 30:27, 30:27)—her opponent from New Zealand, Celine Lee-Lo. The Azerbaijani athlete ended the championship with a bronze medal, losing in the semifinals to Kazakhstan's Lazzat Kuneybayeva. But even with a bronze medal Aynur Rzayeva's performance was a true success.

The road to success

Rzayeva became the first Azerbaijani female boxer to reach the semi-finals of a world championship. The women's boxing team last won medals at world championships back in 2014. Aynur broke a nine-year losing streak. More than 300 boxers from 65 countries competed in the world championship with a prize fund of $2.4m.  The winner received $100,000, the finalist $50,000 and the bronze medallist $25,000.

Aynur Rzayeva was born in 1989 in Baku. She became interested in boxing since she was a teenager. Coaches noticed her skills at zonal and metropolitan tournaments. Her first major competition was the 2014 European Championship, when she reached the 1/4 finals. The same year she took part in the world championship, reaching the 1/8 finals.

In 2016, Aynur hit her first success among adults.  She was among the winners at the European Championship in Sofia. The she defeated Ukrainian Irina Vinni in the quarterfinals, but lost to the Russian boxer Zemfira Magomedalieva (0:3) in the next round and won the bronze medal.

During the pandemic, boxing competitions were postponed. Like other athletes, Aynur had to make a pause in her career. However, intensified training after the forced downtime allowed her to regain her form and win a world championship medal for Azerbaijan.

Coach believes in the future

Yadigar Mammadov, the national team's head coach, described the bronze medal as a success. He believes that his team will perform better in the next competitions: "We took six athletes to the world championship. Zeynab Rahimova (54kg) won two bouts, Mehseti Gamzaeva (57kg) won one. Aynur Rzayeva, third in the world ranking, finished the championship with a bronze medal. It was the weight difference that prevented her from reaching the finals. We will pay special attention to this factor in forthcoming competitions. The Olympic weight category is 75kg, and we will compile a separate programme for Aynur so that she can work comfortably in this particular weight category."

According to Mammadov, the goal of the national team was to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris. "Licensing for competitions begins this year. After undergoing training under a special programme, we hope that Aynur will succeed," said the head coach.

As her next goal, Aynur Rzayeva named winning a license at the European Games to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris: "We had prepared for the tournament very seriously and went to India for a medal. I was ready for it both physically and mentally. Most importantly, I believed in myself. I had a good fight. In the semi-finals I faced a ranked opponent. I do not think she deserved the victory. My goal now is to prepare well for the European Games to get an Olympic license".

Getting a licence

According to the latest reports, more than 40 countries have registered to compete in boxing at the European Games. That makes Aynur Rzayeva's task a challenge: "I don't expect easy competition at the European Games. I just want to fulfil my dream of a licence as soon as possible. The European Games will be held in June. After getting my licence for that event, I want to focus on the Olympics in Paris. At the Olympics, the race becomes very different. The strongest athletes in the world compete there. That's why a special training programme will be developed for the trip to Paris. Probably, I will attend special training camp for some time before the Olympics. Currently I am not thinking about having rest. My goal is to get a licence for the 2024 Games".

The next European Games will start in Poland on June 21. Licences for five sports will be awarded at these continental competitions. Boxing is one of them.