Country finishes Second European Games in top-10
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The Azerbaijani national team took the 10th place in the team standings of the Second European Games 2019 in Minsk, Belarus.
National athletes won 28 medals, of which five are gold, 10 are silver and 13 are bronze medals.
In freestyle wrestling, Azerbaijani athletes Mahir Amiraslanov (57 kg) and Haji Aliyev (65 kg) became champions, while Nurmahammad Hajiyev (97 kg) became second, and Hajimurad Hajiyev (74 kg) and Jamaladdin Mahammadov (125 kg) won bronze medals.
Moreover, national Greco-Roman wrestlers Islam Abbasov (87 kg) became second, while and Sabah Shariati (130 kg) won bronze medal.
In women's wrestling, Maria Stadnik (50 kg) became the champion, while Elmira Gambarova (62 kg) grabbed silver and Alena Kolesnik (57 kg) became the third.
As for karate, Asiman Gurbanli (+84 kg) became the champion, while Irina Zaretska (68 kg), Firdovsi Farzaliev (60 kg) and Rafael Agayev (75 kg) won silver medals, and Roman Heydarov became third.
In boxing, Alfonso Dominguez (81 kg) became the champion, and Lorenzo Sotomayor (69 kg) became the third.
National acrobatic duet Abdullah Al-Meshaihi - Ruhidil Gurbanly won silver in a dynamic exercise and in multi-sport, and also became the third in balance exercise.
As for Azerbaijani judokas, Rustam Orujov (73 kg) won silver medal, while Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg), Irina Kindzerskaya (+78 kg), Mammadali Mehdiyev (90 kg) and Elmar Gasimov (100 kg) grabbed bronze medals.
In sambo, Agasif Samadov (52 kg) became the second, while Mehman Khalilov (57 kg) and Emil Hasanov (68 kg) won bronze medals.
By the number of gold medals, Azerbaijan ranked 10th, giving way to Russia (44 gold awards), Belarus (24), Ukraine (16), Italy (13), the Netherlands (9), Germany (7), Georgia (6), France (6) and the Great Britain (6).
By the total number of medals, Azerbaijan with 28 medals shared 7-8th places with France. Russia was the first with 109 medals, followed by Belarus (69), Ukraine (51), Italy (41), Georgia (30) and the Netherlands (29).
As many as 82 athletes represented the Azerbaijani delegation at the Second European Games.
More than 4,000 athletes from 50 countries took part in the Games and 200 sets of awards in 15 sports were played.
The Second European Games in Minsk can be considered as an exam before the Summer Olympics, which will be held in 2020 in Tokyo.
It is noteworthy that at the 1st European Games in Baku in 2015, Azerbaijan won 56 medals (21-15-20), taking second place in the number of gold awards and third in the total number of medals. The first edition in Baku was broadcast in 145 countries around the world.
The European Games are a necessary and innovative means of maintaining Europe’s leading position in the world of sports.
The European Games is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Europe. The Games are owned, regulated and organized by the European Olympic Committees. The Games are held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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