BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 16
Trend:
Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mariana Vasileva expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their attention and care to development of sports in the country and athletes, Trend reports.
Vasileva made the remark while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 27th Azerbaijan Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics.
"I am grateful for the opportunities created for both athletes and Azerbaijani people to regularly do sports. All the international sport events held in our country develop a sports culture of the country's population and affect the results of athletes," she stressed.
Speaking about the 27th Azerbaijan Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics, Mariana Vasileva noted that it had become a holiday for young gymnasts.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every athlete in Azerbaijan. The 27th Azerbaijan Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics became the first national competition in this gymnastic discipline after a long break. So, this is a time of celebration for most girls, and of course, many of them were worried before the competition and prepare for it very responsibly. Since 2022 new rules in rhythmic gymnastics came into force. Azerbaijan has not participated in international competitions so far, so the Championship is a good experience for our gymnasts," Vasileva said.
She also added that the first international start for Azerbaijani athletes is likely to be the World Cup in Bulgaria.
The deputy minister highly appreciated the gymnasts who took part in various international competitions organized in Baku this year.
“Unfortunately, I was not present at all the competitions, but I followed their results. Congratulations to Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, and all of us on exceptional results. For the first time in the history of Azerbaijani Trampoline Gymnastics World Cup, Seljan Magsudova won silver medal. After her, representatives of Acrobatic Gymnastics delighted us both at the World Age Group Competitions with gold, and at the World Championships with silver and bronze medals. I hope that the representatives of rhythmic and artistic gymnastics will continue this path at the upcoming competitions,” Vasileva said.
She also outlined that many countries had applied for participation in the Championship.
"There is always great interest from coaches, athletes and federations for competitions in Azerbaijan, since the organization here is at the highest level. We also have the best competitive and training base in the world," she added.
Mariana Vasileva stressed that she closely followed the performances of all Azerbaijani athletes both on the national and international arenas.
“We are actively visiting the regions of the country and get acquainted with various issues on the sport, as well as with coaches and heads of sports complexes and institutions. Thanks to this, we can find a solution to these issues and make the right strategy," she said.