Gymnasts in excellent physical form: World Champion
By Nazrin Gadimova
Members of the Azerbaijani national team in rhythmic gymnastics held their control training in Baku on May 7.
Azerbaijan's Gymnastics Federation and the national team coaching staff announced an open workout of the national team and invited all sports fans to visit the newly-opened National Gymnastics arena, which will host European Championships on June 13-15.
Spectators were the first who saw the new performances of Marina Durunda, Gulsum Shafizade, Jala Piriyeva and Zuleikha Ismayilova, as well as performances of group team and other gymnasts. These performances will be shown during the June tournament.
Vice Champion of the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, seven-time World Champion and five-time European Champion Russian Yanina Batyrchina, who attended the event said the gymnasts are already in excellent physical form.
"Among the performing gymnasts, I can highlight the Azerbaijani team leader - Marina Durunda," Batyrchina said. "Her performance was incredible. I especially want to stress her light movements. I would also like to highlight Lala Yusifova. We know that she is recovering from injury. A month is left and I hope she will be able to fully recover."
She also spoke about the young generation, who also will represent Azerbaijan in the upcoming event.
"I can also highlight young gymnasts, namely, Jala Piriyeva and Zuleyha Ismayilova, who struck me with their magnificent performances. I think that they will have a great future. Despite their young age, they have the skills and make quite complex elements," the Russian gymnast added.
The National Gymnastics Arena (NGA) was opened by President Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva on April 16. Depending on the scale of a competition, the number of seats in the arena can be increased from 5,000 to 10,000.
The complex, built in accordance with international standards, has a press center, a first aid station, a dance hall and a gym, doping control rooms, offices, shops, cafes and ancillary facilities. Moreover, the sports facility, which is expected to become one of the best gymnastic centers in Europe, also has a hotel.
A grandiose event, the 30th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics will be held in Baku on June 13-15.
The country that will participate in this major sports event are Andorra, Austria , Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and of course, Azerbaijan.