Azerbaijan to join tumbling FIG World Cup for first time
Azerbaijani gymnasts will make their long-anticipated debut in tumbling discipline at the FIG World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics and Tumbling to be held in Baku on February 18-19.
That will come as the first performance for Azerbaijani jumper on track in such competitions, Head coach of the country's tumbling team Adil Huseynzade told Trend.
“What one knows is that Azerbaijan hosts competitions in a pretty good manner, and it gives additional impetus to our athletes to perform well," he said. "Our gymnasts on trampoline are very experienced and enjoy brilliant beginning. Mikhail Malkin will represent Azerbaijan in jumps on track, who I think, has a good chance despite being very young.”
Competitions on tumbling will be impressive enough, the national coach believes.
“Russia has a very strong representative, while the UK will be represented with two strong athletes. Malkin could become stronger since the European Championship held last April. So, I think he would have goods results should does its best. Indeed, performing at home is very difficult, but a lot of fans will support him. I would like to see all the fans of jumping on a trampoline and on the track to come and support our guys,” he said.
He noted that they plan to participate regularly in competitions on tumbling in the future.
"We are bringing up a group of young guys. Although Malkin is a clear leader today, are have athletes aged 10 and 11 who have already participated in international competitions and won medals. I can mention Zeynab Gasimli and Adil Hajizade. Hopefully, they will soon demonstrate their true skills as well,” Huseynzade said.
He added that the tumbling will also be included in the program of the European Championship 2018 to be held in Azerbaijan.
"It will involve young men and adults. Azerbaijan will be represented by a children's team aged over 13 years," the coach said.
The head coach expressed his confidence that the team will show goods results, despite of being very young.
Azerbaijani athletes hope to make the audience happy with their good performance at the World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics and Tumbling, said Ruslan Aghamirov, a member of the Azerbaijani trampoline gymnastics team.
“There is a very serious start ahead – the World Cup competitions,” he told Trend. “Currently, a very active preparation is underway.”
Aghamirov said responsibility is higher when performing at home, but the team will do everything possible to make the audience happy.
He also said the whole Azerbaijani team is expecting good results. “We will fight for medals. Firstly, we have to pass the preliminary stage and get into the finals. Then a very serious competition will wait for us, it won’t be easy, but we will try and fight till the end,” noted Aghamirov.
Sviatlana Makshtarova and Veronika Zemlianaia, members of the Azerbaijani national team in trampoline gymnastics, also voiced readiness to demonstrate their skills at the upcoming FIG World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics and Tumbling in Baku.
“We hope for good results, especially in the trampoline synchro pairs programs,” Makshtarova said. “I think we have good chances; we train intensively.”
In turn, Veronika Zemlianaia said that first it is necessary to overcome anxiety. “This is the first major competition for me, so I am a little excited,” she added. “I think I’ll be able to perform well.”
The female trampoline gymnasts also called on all fans of gymnastics to come to the National Gymnastics Arena and support the team members.
World Cup on Trampoline and Tumbling in Baku may give new stars to gymnastics, believes Member of the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG) Executive Committee Erik Mogensen.
“This is the first major competition in this sport after the Olympic Games in Rio. Some leaders in the discipline have completed their career after the Olympics, so I think that the World Cup will give us new faces, new stars who will make their first steps on the way to the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020,” the UEG representative said.
Inclusion of tumbling to the World Cup’s program this year shows the development of the discipline.
“For the first time we saw Azerbaijani adult tumbling gymnasts at last year's European Championship and this shows the development of this type of gymnastics in the country. In addition, we will see the tumbling next year at the European Championships in Baku. So this is a kind of training,” Mogensen said.
The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation will open the season of competitions with the FIG World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics and Tumbling. The new Olympic Cycle’s first World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics will take place at Baku’s National Gymnastics Arena on February 18 and 19.
As many as 85 Trampoline and Tumbling gymnasts from 15 countries will arrive in Baku and enter into strong contest within two-day competition to test their strength on the basis of the new Code of Points coming into force in 2017.
The World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics will be organized in the country for the second time.
Azerbaijan pins great hope on Ilya Grishunin, Oleg Piunov, Ruslan Aghamirov, Sviatlana Makshtarova and Veronika Zemlianaia in the trampoline individual program and Mikhail Malkin within synchronic programs on the tumbling track.
Among famous male trampoline athletes, there will be Olympic Games’ gold medalist Uladzislau Hancharou (Belarus), silver medalist Dmitrii Ushakov (Russia), the medalists of the World Championships Sebastien Martiny (France), Andrey Yudin (Russia), Mikhail Melnik (Russia), while Tatsiana Piatrenia (Belarus) and Anna Kornetskaya (Russia).
At tumbling men’s events, the World Championships’ silver medalist Grigory Noskov (Russia) is in the list of competitors on the tumbling track, while at women’s competitions, gold winner of the European Championships Anna Korobeinikova (Russia), as well as silver medalist of the World and European Championships Lucie Colebeck (Great Britain) and other gymnasts will show their strength and mastery.