National gymnasts awarded title of "Honorary Master of Sports"

18 January 2021 11:54 (UTC+04:00)

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By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan's rhythmic gymnasts have been awarded with the title of "Honorary Master of Sports" for their achievements during their sports career.

Siyana Vasileva and Aliya Pashayeva became silver and bronze medalists respectively as part of the team in group exercises at the European Championships in 2014 and 2018

Aliya Pashayeva was also part of the team that won a license for the Olympic Games in Tokyo based on the results of the all-around program at the World Championships in Baku in 2019.

Silver medalist of the European Youth Championship Sabina Abbasova (Hajiyeva) won silver medal in the adult age program (three balls and two ribbons) at the European Championship in Baku in 2014.

Anastasia Prasolova was a member of the group exercise team, which for the first time in the history of rhythmic gymnastics in Azerbaijan represented the country at the Olympic Games (Beijing 2008). The team took 7th place in the all-around final.

Now the gymnasts are engaged in coaching activities and see the results of their hard work in the successes of their disciples.

The gymnasts trained by Anastasia Prasolova won silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the European Games and the European Championship held in Baku in 2015.

Siyana Vasileva was one of the coaches of the team in group exercises, which won silver and bronze at the European Championships 2020 in Ukraine.

Aliya Pashayeva and Sabina Abbasova (Hajiyeva) train young gymnasts for the national team. Aliya Pashayeva works at the Baku School of Gymnastics, and Sabina Abbasova (Hajiyeva) works at the National Gymnastics Arena.

Founded in 1956, AGF comprises seven gymnastics disciplines recognized by the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG).

The federation has experienced a revival since 2002. The renewed federation has brought gymnastics to a completely new level.

The high-level organization of the gymnastics events did not remain unnoticed. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) included the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation (AGF) into the list of the meritorious federations.

For many years, the AGF has been included into the FIG list of the Top 10 gymnastics federations.

From 2014 to 2019, the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation was included in the list of the FIG 10 strongest federations and for the last three years it has led the list.

In 2020, AGF managed to host 3 competitions at the beginning of the year.

First, the trampoline gymnasts visited Baku to participate in the World Cup qualifiers for the Olympic Games. Afterwards, the young men's gymnasts competed for the AGF Junior Trophy. Moreover, Azerbaijani gymnasts managed to win 2 silver and 1 bronze medal during the competition.

Another licensed competition for the Olympics - the World Cup in gymnastics was also organized in the country.

The most successful event for the national gymnasts in 2020 was the participation in the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Ukraine.

The gymnastic team consisting of Zeynab Hummatova, Darya Sorokina, Maryam Safarova, Laman Alimuradova and Elizabeth Luzan, won a silver medal in all-around. This medal is the first medal in the history of Azerbaijan's rhythmic gymnastics won by the national team in group all-around competition.

National team also won bronze medals in the competition with 3 hoops and 2 pairs of clubs.

The next medal was won by the team as well. Narmin Bayramova, Alina Gozalova, Ilona Zeynalova, Leyli Agazade, they grabbed bronze medal in this program according to the total number of the joint points.

In addition, a joint virtual competition in rhythmic gymnastics was also organized for gymnasts from Azerbaijan and Israel.

The competition, called "Battle", was attended by teams from both countries licensed for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

AGF also focuses on improving the skills of coaches and referees. Thus, the gymnastics courses were organized for local judges and coaches last year.