Skeet competition winners set in Gabala
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan's northern city Gabala has remained the center of shooting in the country this week as Heydar Aliyev Grand Prix is underway in this fastest growing city.
Kicked off on August 14, the tournament will last until August 21. It has brought together the strongest athletes from Australia, England, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Cyprus, Kuwait, Finland, Iran, Italy and Uzbekistan to compete in trap and skeet.
Azerbaijan is represented by Olympic champion Zemfira Meftahetdinova, representative of "Gabala" Shooting Club Nurlana Jafarova, Elvin Ismailov, Emin Jafarov, Khanhuseyn Bagirov, Elchin Babayev and Pasha Ahadpour.
The Grand Prix is co-organized by Gabala Shooting Club, National Olympic Committee, Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Federation of Shooting. The prize fund of the tournament is $81,000.
Men' skeet competition ended with the victory of Rory Warlow (UK), Rashid Hamad (Qatar) and Alexander Yaschenko (Kazakhstan) on August 17.
Juniors' skeet competition held on the same day ended up with the victory of Alexander Mukhmekhdiev (Kazakhstan), Mohammed Ahmad Al Kuwari (Qatar), and Niyaz Agazade (Azerbaijan) as the winners.
Athletes of the Gabala Shooting Club, the host of the Grand Prix, Khanhuseyn Bagirov ended up as 8th , Emin Jafarov as 10th and Pasha Ahadpour as 15th respectively.
Earlier, women' skeet discipline winners ranged as followed, Svetlana Demina (Russia), Olga Ponarina (Russia), and Elena Allen (UK). Azerbaijani athletes Nurlana Jafarova and Zemfira Meftahetdinova took 8th and 9th place respectively.