ON TOP AGAIN

On July 4–5, 2026, the Portuguese city of Coimbra was host to the World Cup stage in trampoline and tumbling. The competition proved successful for the Azerbaijani athletes, who delivered strong results.

Following two competitions

Azerbaijan was represented in the trampoline events by Maqsud Maqsudov. Scoring 60.760 points, he placed eighth in qualifying and advanced to the final. In the decisive round, Maqsudov earned 61.440 points and finished the tournament in seventh place.

In the men’s synchronised programme, Maqsud Maqsudov and Huseyn Abbasov fought their way to third place and took bronze medals.

In the tumbling competition, Mikhail Malkin qualified in second place with 59.400 points, while Tofig Aliyev scored 58.100 points to finish third in qualifying. Both athletes confidently progressed to the final.

The reigning world and European tumbling champion, Mikhail Malkin, once again managed to climb to the top of the podium in the decisive round. The decorated Azerbaijani gymnast received 32.300 points, outperforming all his rivals to claim the gold medal.

Another experienced national team member, Tofig Aliyev, took bronze with 29.300 points. The silver went to Portugal’s Vasco Peso.

That same day, Azerbaijani gymnasts also competed successfully at the international Coimbra GymFest (Coimbra Gymnastics Festival). In the individual trampoline event, Maqsud Maqsudov won gold, and Huseyn Abbasov took silver. In the team tumbling competition, gold medals were won by Alexei Karatashov, Bilal Gurbanov and Huseyn Asadullayev.

In the individual tumbling programme, Bilal Gurbanov was the winner, while Alexei Karatashov claimed bronze. In addition, Sanan Rzazade won a gold medal, and Esnad Niftiyeva and Khadija Mammadzade finished with silver medals.

Following the World Cup stages, the series winner for the season was determined. As a result, Azerbaijan’s tumbling representative Mikhail Malkin became the World Cup overall winner. The athlete achieved this outstanding success thanks to consistent, high-level performances at all stages.

A first in tumbling history

Mikhail Malkin, who has now won the World Cup series for the fourth time in his career, spoke to Region Plus about the difficulty of the element he performed in the final. According to him, he is the first person in the history of tumbling to execute this element:

“The victory in Portugal was one of the most difficult and tense in recent years. Every athlete who appeared in the final was worthy of the champion’s title. I managed to win thanks to a more difficult programme. I am very happy that my team-mate Tofig Aliyev also stood on the podium with me.

“The final performances turned out to be extremely interesting. Just imagine: several gymnasts scored more than 30 points for their programmes, which speaks to an incredibly high level of competition.

“My coach Adil Huseynzade gave me tremendous support. His advice helped me enormously. He kept telling me I would manage. Successfully performing the hardest element in the final will give me extra motivation ahead of the next competitions.”

Results from Nanjing

Another World Cup stage—this time in sports aerobics—was held in the Chinese city of Nanjing and also proved successful for the Azerbaijani athletes. The country was represented in the individual programme by Sara Alikhanli, while Medina Mustafayeva and Vladimir Dolmatov competed in the mixed pairs.

Following qualifying, Sara Alikhanli, with 17.900 points, and the duo of Medina Mustafayeva and Vladimir Dolmatov, with 18.600 points, advanced to the final. In the decisive round, the Azerbaijani mixed pair earned 19.100 points, surpassing all their rivals to claim the gold medals. Sara Alikhanli placed sixth with 18.050 points.

Baku to host the General Assembly

European Gymnastics has once again placed great trust in Azerbaijan. In 2027, Baku will host the organisation’s 32nd Congress, with the participation of representatives from 50 national federations. The congress will discuss the future of European gymnastics, key development directions for the sport, and major organisational matters. On December 10–11, 2027, European Gymnastics’ supreme governing body—the General Assembly—will gather in the Azerbaijani capital.