President of Russian Gymnastics Federation, the consultant of Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnastics team, Irina Viner appreciated performances of Azerbaijani athletes at the end of the competition program of the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship.
"I remember a time when many years ago Azerbaijani team was represented only by Dinara Gimatova, who firstly was performing in weakest group C. Then we met with the President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva and discussed how to improve and promote the rhythmic gymnastics in Azerbaijan. Now, few years later I am very pleased that it is junior Azerbaijani team who performed well and ranked third in the European Championship," said Irina Viner.
Azerbaijani group team of junior rhythmic gymnasts (Lala Yusifova, Aisha Mustafayeva, Mansura Bagiyeva, Aynur Jabbarli, Sabina Garatova and Siyana Vasileva) Sunday won bronze medals at the European championships in Minsk.
According to Viner, in the final Azerbaijani juniors were very good, and in the preliminary competitions they were fourth. "It all suggests that the impetus that was given by Dinara and then continued by Aliya Garayeva and Anna Gurbanova resulted in rhythmic gymnastics becoming popular in Azerbaijan. Much attention is paid and resources are used to raise rhythmic gymnastics to new heights. This gave results: you reap what you sow . Today we see that the juniors, the future of Azerbaijan, perform at a very high level," she underscored.
According to the consultant of Azerbaijani team, the results achieved by Azerbaijani juniors are not a limit. "I'm sure this is not a limit and I think that at the Olympics they will be able to win some medals," said Irina Viner.