President Aliyev meet Azerbaijani Olympians

Baku hosted a solemn ceremony on September 5 dedicated to the victory of Azerbaijani athletes, who competed in the 31st Summer Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Baku hosted a solemn ceremony on September 5 dedicated to the victory of Azerbaijani athletes, who competed in the 31st Summer Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the National Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev, his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva and family members were warmly welcomed by the meeting participants.

President Aliyev, greeting the sportsmen, coaches and other guests of the evening, stated that the Azerbaijani team won a grand and historic victory at the Rio Olympic Games.

“This is a historic victory indeed. Azerbaijani athletes won 18 medals at the Olympic Games in Rio. This is a record figure. One of them is gold, seven silver and 10 bronze medals. This shows that Azerbaijan is a sports nation. I have repeatedly said this and I want to say it again. Life and the results of our athletes confirm this yet again. For the number of medals Azerbaijani Team shared 14th-15th places. We are in seventh place among European countries, second among the republics of the former Soviet Union and first among Muslim countries,” the president said, emphasizing that the people of Azerbaijan are delighted with this magnificent victory.

Stressing that Azerbaijan is a country of sports, the president noted that these excellent results were achieved by pursuing a focused sports policy.

“We are among the world’s strongest sporting nations. We are showing the world that sport in Azerbaijan is developing, that a great new generation is growing up, and that sport is an indicator of the overall development of any country. If we look at leading sporting nations, we can see that the vast majority of them are developed countries because developed countries provide greater support for sport, have more financial opportunities and the best conditions for the athletes. And, of course, the results show themselves. Our successful economic development and sound policies have taken Azerbaijan into the ranks of world’s sporting elite,” he said, further elaborating that this makes him very happy.

Speaking about the history of sports development in the country, President Aliyev said that today our athletes achieve good results in various international competitions, European and World Championships.

“Young athletes delight us. The younger generation is growing up. And this is a very important issue. If the younger generation doesn’t get engaged in sport, then, of course, there can be no talk of success. To attract the younger generation to sport, we need to create favorable conditions first. We are creating them. We have opened our modern Olympic centers in more than 40 cities. The victories of our famous athletes provide further incentive, of course. The children, teenagers and those who are engaged in or want to be engaged in sports look at our champions, rejoice in their success and want to be like them. So all of these factors serve the development of sports,” he said.

Today, Azerbaijan has asserted itself in the world as a sporting nation, the president underlined.

“The Olympic Games in Rio have also shown that the successes we achieved in previous periods were not accidental. Last year, the first European Games in history were held in Baku. Azerbaijani athletes finished in second place in team standings. Some reacted to this with amazement. In other words, it came as a surprise for some sports professionals. They thought that some special conditions may have been created for our athletes at home. This was not the case, of course. In fact, the injustice of some referees during the European Games in Baku actually hampered our athletes in some cases. Similarly, we should have won more gold medals in Rio too. This is well known to you, the Azerbaijani public and those interested in sports,” the president said, stressing that the results of the Rio Olympic Games suggest that our achievements in European Games were not accidental.

President Aliyev went on to say that the results of the Games will be analyzed, “so that we could expect even better results in the future”.

“In Rio, the flag of the independent Azerbaijan was raised 18 times. When you consider that we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the restoration of our independence in one month, this is a wonderful gift of Azerbaijani athletes for the 25th anniversary of our independence. The entire Azerbaijani people are proud of you. I am proud of you. I thank you, I wish you every success, I kiss and hug you! Long live Azerbaijani sportsmen!” the president concluded.

Then orders of President Aliyev to award members of Azerbaijan national Olympic team were read out.

The head of state presented “Honorary diploma of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, “Taraggi” medals, “Shohrat” and “Service to Motherland” orders to a group of athletes and their coaches for their contribution to the development of sports in Azerbaijan and their high achievements in the 31st Summer Olympic Games.

Earlier, the president signed executive orders awarding members of the country`s national Olympic team. Under the presidential orders, a total of 44 people received state orders, medals and certificates of recognition.

Meanwhile, Radik Isayev, who won Azerbaijan's only gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio, was honored with the Olympic stipend of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Addressing the event, senior coach of the Azerbaijan freestyle wrestling team Firdovsi Umudov, personal coach of Togrul Asgarov, the silver medalist of the 31st Summer Olympic Games, Elchin Zeynalov, coach of the men's national taekwondo team Elnur Amanov, silver medalist of the Olympic Games, judo fighter Elmar Gasimov, silver medalist of the Rio Olympics, wrestler Mariya Stadnik thanked the head of state for his great attention to the development of sports in the country.

President Aliyev also met with Zabit Samedov, who sealed WBC Muay Thai world title at a tournament commemorating the first President of Chechnya Akhmad Kadyrov in Grozny, and congratulated him on his victory.

President Aliyev then posed for photographs with Olympians and their coaches.