BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12. The World Weightlifting Championship won't be held in Armenia, Board Member of the Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation Anar Huseynov told reporters, Trend reports.
According to him, the blatant disrespect shown to the Azerbaijani flag at the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan was another clear proof that Armenia is still not ready not only for peace but for nothing at all, especially for the organization of any major sporting event.
“We didn't keep silent about what happened and refused to participate in the competition, thus expressing our protest, but we could not stop there. After such disrespect shown to our flag, punishment should have followed," the official said.
On April 14, during the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, an Armenian designer and stylist Aram Nikolyan ran onto the stage, took the Azerbaijani flag from the hands of the flag bearer, and burned it in front of everyone.
As Anar Huseynov noted, on the very first day [when the incident took place] Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation sent letters to international authoritative organizations and federations, established contacts, and worked to ensure that a response was given to both the moral and legal side of the issue, so that this act of Armenia would be condemned.
"Our main goal was to deprive Armenia of the right to organize the 2024 World Cup and we succeeded, despite the fact that this issue has already been practically resolved. Agreements were received, and only formalities remained," Huseynov reminded. "Armenia, which at the first stage was preparing for the continental and then for the world championship, carried big work in this direction, but the plans didn't work out."
According to the official, the joint efforts of the Weightlifting Federation and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan have been successful.
"As a result of our almost daily activities with the International Weightlifting Federation, this morning, at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the organization in Cuba, it was decided not to hold the 2024 World Weightlifting Championship in Armenia, but to transfer this right to Bahrain. Justice has prevailed!" he emphasized.