Azerbaijan, Baku, July 4 / Trend M. Aliyev /
Olympic champion, judoka Elnur Mammadli is expected to be a flag-bearer of the Azerbaijani Olympic team, Azerbaijani Youth and Sports Minister Azad Rahimov told media today.
"Athletes usually say that someone who carries the flag has never won medals," the minister said. So, it was difficult to choose an athlete. Elnur Mammadli is confident of victory. Therefore, he is expected to be a flag-bearer."
However, the final decision has not been made yet, Rahimov said.
While expressing his own opinion, the minister said that he would like to see Olympic champion of 2004 and now head coach of the Azerbaijani Greco-Roman Wrestling Team Farid Mansurov as a flag-bearer. The summer Olympic Games will open in London on July 27.
Azerbaijan's Olympic Team will participate in the extended format. It will be represented by 53 athletes in 16 different sports, 41 of whom will participate in the Olympic Games for the first time. The Azerbaijani team, along with the athletes, includes six doctors and 29 coaches.
In general, Azerbaijani sportsmen for the first time during the years of independence will take part in five new types of sports - canoeing, rowing, cycling, gymnastics and fencing at the London Summer Olympics.
A sport delegation will leave for London in two groups - first group - on July 24, the second - on August 4. The ceremony of raising the Azerbaijani flag will be held on July 25 in the Olympic village where athletes will be situated.
