Azerbaijani team in group exercises: We knew why we worked all year

By Trend

Performing at the World Championships was very challenging and demanding, Azerbaijani gymnasts of the national team in group exercises told Trend.

The Azerbaijani team in group exercises won a license for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo during the competitions held on September 21. Azerbaijan is represented by a team consisting of Ayshan Bayramova, Diana Ahmadbayli, Aliya Pashayeva, Zeynab Hummatova and Darya Sorokina.

“It is very challenging and demanding to perform in our native land, but we managed to deal with our worries. We knew why we worked all year. It was a very important start in our careers, as the World Championships provide a license [to the Olympic Games],” Ayshan Bayramova said.

Diana Ahmadbayli noted that holding such an important competition in her native land is a gift in of itself on the one hand, while also being a challenge on the other.

“Before going out on the stage, we understood that we had been working all year and must do everything well. Of course we had our worries, but since we set our minds optimistically, we went out there and performed the program,” said Aliya Pashayeva.

The 37th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships will last until September 22.

The Championships is the qualification competition for the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo in 2020.

As for the gymnasts within group exercises, Bulgaria, Russia and Italy have already qualified according to the results of the last World Championships. At this year’s Championships, the best five teams will qualify for the Tokyo-2020 Olympic Games according to the all-around scores.

More than 300 gymnasts from 61 countries are competing for nine sets of medals. “Fairy Tales will come to life" is the motto of the championships.

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