BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 10
By Jani Babayeva - Trend:
The FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup - AGF Trophy 2020 - will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku on March 12-15, Trend reports on March 10 referring to the video footage posted on the Facebook page of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation.
This World Cup will also qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
According to the registration list, 42 countries wish to participate in the World Cup. Approximately 360 people within delegations, including 158 men and women artistic gymnasts in total, will visit Baku for this competition.
There will be qualifications on the first two days of four-day competitions, while the finals will take place on the next two days.
In the tournament, the traditional “AGF Trophy” will be presented to the gymnasts who get the highest execution score.
During the competition, Azerbaijan will be represented by Murad Agarzayev, Marina Nekrasova, Agamurad Gahramanov, Ivan Tikhonov, Samira Gahramanova and Javidan Babayev.
In the video footage, Marina Nekrasova and Samira Gahramanova talked about preparation for the competition, stressing that this World Cup will be the fifth in a row in Azerbaijan.
Samira Gahramanova will participate in the World Cup for the first time. This is her first competition in the category of seniors.
“To perform in the native arena is very responsible; therefore, the gymnasts are thoroughly preparing for competitions,” the gymnasts said.
“Your support gives us strength,” the gymnasts said appealing to the fans.
Marina Nekrasova and Ivan Tikhonov gained licenses for the Olympic Games by receiving a sufficient number of points in the qualification of all-around competitions at the 2019 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships held in Germany’s Stuttgart city.
The license of Marina Nekrasova is the first Olympic license in the history of women's artistic gymnastics in Azerbaijan.