(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 2. We believe that therewill be more licenses for the Olympics, Azerbaijani Youth andSports Minister Farid Gayibov said, Trend reports via Idman.
"The past months have succeeded each other; the successes areincreasing day by day. April was remembered for mass participation,sports achievements, and the strengtheningucture," the Ministernoted.
He said in the "Minister's Point of View" that two importantevents took place for the infrastructure of Ganja, the secondlargest city of our country: "First of all, the head of our state,Mr. Ilham Aliyev, opened the Ganja Sports Palace, which was createdat the highest level for various sports. got acquainted with theconditions. This sports palace, which is the largest sports centerof the Caucasus and the region, has every opportunity for training,competition, and recreation of athletes. I believe that futurechampions will grow up in this palace, and many local andinternational competitions will be held. I would like to mentionthat many competitions for the III CIS Games, which will be held inour country next year, will be organized here. In addition, thehead of the country also laid the foundation for Ganja CityStadium.
The Minister also emphasized that it has become a tradition forBaku to host international competitions: "The Rhythmic GymnasticsWorld Cup, where 116 gymnasts from 41 countries competed in Baku,was organized at a high level this time. At the event held at theNational Gymnastics Arena, the new mascots of the federation-anelegant gazelle and a brave fox-were presented to the public international competition, the Olympic qualifyingtournament for wrestling, was also organized at the NGA at a highlevel. In the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, five of ourfreestyle wrestlers-Aliabbas Rzazade (57 kg), Haji Aliyev (65 kg),Turan Bayramov (74 kg), Osman Nurmagomedov (86 kg), and GeorgyMeshvildishvili (125 kg)-qualified for Paris 2024. For the firsttime in history, we will be represented at the Olympics in gamesports. Azerbaijan's national women's 3x3 basketball team broughtus this joy by winning the license-type tournament organized inHong Kong. We got another license for the Paris Summer Olympics inacademic rowing. Our athlete, Diana Dymchenko, secured a license tothe Olympics by taking second place in the competition. For thelast time, Azerbaijan was represented in the rowing sport at theSummer Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By the firstday of May, our athletes had increased the number of licenses to18. I congratulate the canoe and rowing, basketball, and wrestlingfederations on their new licenses. We believe that the number ofqualifications in the next two months will increase."
Gayibov noted that April was remembered for many firsts and newrecords: "Our judoka Hidayat Heydarov achieved a new record inAzerbaijani judo by winning the title of European champion for the4th time. Another one of our judokas, Eljan Hajiyev, won the goldmedal at the Continental Championship for the first time in the 90kg weight class. The European championship of our chess player,Ulviyya Fataliyeva, was one of the first. With this success,Ulviyya went down in history as the first Azerbaijani chess playerto win the title of European champion. Our tumbling and trampolineplayers achieved first place with their successful performances inthe European Championship. Our tumbling team won the title ofEuropean champion. For the first time in the history of gymnastics,we won a medal at the European Championship. This success wasachieved by Nikita Simonov (silver) in hoops. Our team alsoperformed successfully in the synchronized movements of teenagersand girls on the trampoline, and it was the first European medalfor our country won by trampoline girls. Our tumbling team also wonour first gold medal in the European Championship."
The minister also said that the tradition of meeting withAzerbaijani athletes and their coaches, who have successfullyrepresented our country in continental and world championships andprestigious international competitions, continues during the month Najaf, President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan(SOCAR), was elected the new head of the organization at the nextreport-election of the Association of Azerbaijan FootballFederations, and Rashad Rasullu was elected the new executive vicepresident of the federation at the general meeting of theAzerbaijan Judo Federation. I wish success to both federations intheir further activities."
Gayibov also announced that Baku is a contender for the title ofSports Capital in 2026: "Our city has already been nominated, andrepresentatives of the Evaluation Commission for the World SportsCapital Award (ACES) visited Baku last month. They were interestedin the activities of several sports facilities and participated inthe presentation. I had a meeting with the representatives of thecommission. We talked with them about the work done for sports inour country, the successes achieved, and the sports potential ofBaku."
He said that responsible and productive two months are waitingfor our national team to arrive in Paris: "The consecutivesuccesses achieved by Azerbaijani athletes in the first four monthsof the year encourage us to look more optimistically at tomorrow. Ibelieve that our athletes will continue the Olympic year withvictories and will keep our flag high".
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