Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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Azerbaijan Table Tennis Cup has kicked off at Shua Sports Complex held in Baku, Azernews reports.

The tournament brought together athletes aged 14 and 18 from Baku, as well as from various cities and districts.

At the opening ceremony, Vice-President of Azerbaijan Table Tennis Federation Elmar Islam and Secretary General Konul Mikayilova hailed the achievements of the athletes at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games and congratulated the bronze medalists Adil Ahmadzade, Merziyya Nurmatova, Zemfira Mikayilova, and Aylin Asgarova. The Azerbaijan Cup was then officially declared open.

The four-day tournament will determine the winners and medalists in team, individual, doubles, and mixed doubles events. Successful athletes will be awarded diplomas, medals, and gifts.

The Azerbaijan Table Tennis Federation (ASTF) was established in the early 1950s, following the organization of a Baku section for table tennis. This came after a growing interest in the sport in the 1930s and 1940s.

Officially, ASTF has been a member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) since 1995, and at the same time a member of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU).

One of the main goals of ASTF is to organize and develop table tennis across the country: to build a stable and well‑equipped national federation; to ensure proper material and technical support and training for the national teams; to promote the sport at grassroots level, including among youth; and to involve Azerbaijani athletes in national and international competitions.

Over the years, the Azerbaijan Table Tennis Federation has achieved significant successes. Under its guidance Azerbaijan began taking part in international competitions: the national team started participating in European championships in 1996 and in world championships since 1997.

ASTF regularly organizes national tournaments and championships across age groups.

The Azerbaijani players have also made progress: through participation in European and global competitions, winning medals and raising the profile of table tennis in Azerbaijan.

In recent years, ASTF remains active in promoting the sport, organizing age‑group competitions, youth tournaments and national cups, continuously working toward discovering and nurturing promising new talents.