Head coach: Professionalism of gymnasts from Azerbaijani regions is growing

Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 19

By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:

Professionalism of gymnasts representing the regions of Azerbaijan is growing every year, Mariana Vasileva, head coach of the Azerbaijani national rhythmic gymnastics team, told Trend.

According to Vasileva, gymnasts from a record number of Azerbaijani regions participate in the 24th Azerbaijan Open Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship this year.

The 24th Azerbaijan Open Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship kicked off in Baku on Aug. 18.

“Previously, only Ganja participated in these competitions, and now we see Kurdamir and Zira,” she noted, adding that, “this is excellent, and the level is growing every year.”

“Today we see a new generation of gymnasts in the national team with completely new exercises, composed literally a month and a half ago. In general, we began to prepare intensively for the next season. The world championship will be held soon, where Azerbaijan will be represented by Zohra Aghamirova and Ayshan Bayramova,” said the head coach.

According to her, a number of gymnasts moved this year to the “adults” category.

“There are no new names in the ‘adult’ program. These are the same girls who were juniors last year, and now they perform in the ‘adult’ age category. Yelyzaveta Luzan, Darya Farshbafshakhriyari, Narmina Samadova and Arzu Jalilova are four main gymnasts who will prepare for the European Championship in 2018,” said Vasileva. “For now they perform in individual programs, but it only helps them. Good performances in the World Cup are very important for the country and the Gymnastics Federation, because the younger generation has the opportunity to see famous athletes and learn from them.”

The head coach added that gymnasts from other countries also participate in the Azerbaijan Open Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship.

“In particular, the New Zealand national team takes part in the Championship, and New Zealand judges of the international category are also participating. They told me that they like the level of organization of the competition and they intend to borrow some ideas from us,” she noted.

“The Australian national team and the US team also were at the training camp in Baku last week. I’m very glad that they enjoyed being here; we helped them with the preparation of exercises,” said Vasileva.

The Turkish junior team, as well as the Egyptian national team will arrive in Baku next week, said the head coach adding that, the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation has many guests now, which is pleasing.

Vasileva went on to say that the professionalism of athletes from Zira is also growing.

“At the championship that we held on June 1, on the International Day for Protection of Children, representatives of the Zira club, which opened just one and a half to two years ago, won for the first time, in one of the age categories, bypassing the Baku gymnasts. And they didn’t just win, they showed a fairly high level of professionalism,” added the head coach.

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