Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan ranked 39th at the just completed Summer Olympics in Beijing, claiming one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.
As a comparison, the country ranked 50th at the previous tournament in Athens in 2004, with one gold and four bronze medals, 34th in Sydney in 2000, with two gold and one bronze medal, and 61st in Atlanta in 1996, with one silver medal.
The results suggest that Azerbaijan, in 2008, topped its performance in Athens and Atlanta but performed slightly worse than eight years ago in Sydney. However, the 2008 Olympics was the best event in Azerbaijan`s history for the number of claimed medals, as the country ranked 27th on this indicator in China.
Among the countries topping the charts, Azerbaijan was ahead of a number of countries including Bulgaria, Portugal, Iran, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, and Serbia. Counting the number of medals, it topped the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Argentina, Switzerland and other countries.
Among former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan ranked sixth, next to Russia (23 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze medals), Ukraine (7-5-15), Belarus (4-5-10), Georgia (3-0-3) and Kazakhstan (2-4-7).
The country beat Armenia, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Moldova. Turkmenistan was the only ex-Soviet state that did not win any medals.
Azerbaijan ranked 20th among European nations.
The Chinese team, which claimed 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze medals, won the Olympics. It is followed by the United States (36-38-36). Russia (23-21-28) leaped to third place on the day before the Olympics ended.
The U.S. won the most medals - 110, while China claimed 100 medals and Russia took home 72 medals. Athletes from 87 countries received medals, and 55 national teams sealed wins at the Olympics.
Azerbaijan undoubtedly displayed a successful performance in Beijing, achieving a national record of seven medals. The gold medal won by young judo wrestler Elnur Mammadli, who scored a stunning win over world champion Wang Ki Chun in the men`s 73kg final, was the first such medal claimed by an ex-Soviet nation in the Chinese capital. Moreover, Azerbaijan became the first Islamic country to win gold in Beijing.
Despite its tremendous success, Azerbaijan could not surpass its performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as the number of gold medals is a deciding factor at the tournament. There were good chances to break that record, too. However, it is enough to recall Greco-Roman wrestler Rovshan Bayramov`s defeat in the final match to a Russian opponent, though the Azerbaijani athlete was close to victory.
It is also disappointing that Azerbaijan`s success took a downward course. The country gained gold in the beginning of the games, followed by two silver medals and completed its performance with four bronze medals. As a result, such countries as Mongolia, Korea and Zimbabwe finished ahead of Azerbaijan, which is apparently a tougher competitor.
It is also indicative that Azerbaijan lost to Georgia for the second time at the Olympics. Whereas in Athens, the neighboring South Caucasus republic won two gold and two silver medals, in Beijing it claimed three gold and three bronze medals.
Nonetheless, three times in a row Azerbaijan has beat Armenia, which, after a setback in Athens where it won no medals, won only bronze this time.