Baku, Azerbaijan, June 13
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Opening ceremony of the first European Games was an amazing show, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015 European Games Simon Clegg said June 13 at a press conference.
Clegg said he was confident that all Azerbaijanis felt proud with regard to the European Games being held in the country.
He also mentioned that some 4,200 athletes and officials live in the Athletes Village in Baku, 420 more athletes live in Mingachevir, where also some sports competitions will be held as part of the Games. Overall, over 6,000 athletes have arrived in Baku for participation in the Games.
"Yesterday we started our first competitions - synchronized swimming," said Clegg. "But today we have first medal opportunities. Athletes will be competing today for 13 medals, including karate athletes to compete for 6 medals."
With regards to Azerbaijani karatekas, Clegg said he believes Azerbaijani team will win medals in this sports discipline.
Meanwhile, four Azerbaijani karatekas have already advanced to the semifinals.
Baku 2015 is the first ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which kicked off on June 12.
There is a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition.
The First European Games will last till June 28. Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012.