National Paralympic powerlifter crowned European champion
NElshan Huseynov earned a gold medal after lifting a total of 230kg, while Nurlan Babajanov captured bronze with a lift of 197kg.
On the first day of the tournament, Parvin Mammadov grabbed gold while female athlete Aytan Bagirova captured a bronze medal.
France hosted the 2018 European Open Para Powerlifting Championships on May 25-30.
Around 250 athletes from 40 countries competed in northern France in one of the most high-level competitions on the calendar.
Berck-sur-Mer 2018 will be the third European Open Para Powerlifting Championships since 2013, when the competition returned to the calendar in Alexin, Russia, after a six year hiatus.
The last edition was held in Eger, Hungary in 2015, and featured more than 200 athletes from 41 countries. Four world and six European records were broken as athletes took one of the final chances to improve their place in the Paralympic rankings for Rio 2016.
Azerbaijani Paralympic athletes are achieving more success year by year.
In 2013, Azerbaijani two-time Paralympic champion and four-time European champion won gold medal at the IBSA Judo European Championships.
Only in 2015, the Paralympic athletes have won 79 medals – 32 gold, 28 silver and 19 bronze.
The National Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan (NPKA) was established in 1996.
The Committee is developing 12 of the 19 Paralympic sports. By the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, two sports will also be added to them.
The statement was made by Svetlana Goncharova, Deputy Director General for Tourism of the Mosturflot cruise company, told the Association of Tour Operators of Russia on May 31.
She noted that the construction of the ship is on schedule and it may be fully ready for cruising next year. The cruise passenger ship is designed for 310 passengers who will travel in 155 comfortable cabins of different classes.
Currently, active negotiations are underway on enabling the ship to enter the ports of the Caspian states.
“According to our plans, the ship will enter the ports of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Most of the Caspian cruises will start and end in Baku,” Goncharova noted.
She added that the company plans 7-8 day “short” cruises with entering several ports in the Caspian Sea. For example, these include cruises in the southern part of the sea, with visiting Iran and Turkmenistan, as well as those in the northern part, with entering the ports of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
Goncharova also noted that in the future, “Peter the Great” will make cruises connecting three seas.
“We plan a cruise starting from Baku on the Caspian Sea, going through Astrakhan to the Volgodonsk canal, then through Rostovon-Don to the Azov Sea, and further to the Black Sea. Then, through the Kerch Strait the ship will reach Novorossiysk and Sochi, and after that – Georgia and Turkey,” she said, noting that the cruise will finish in the city of Trabzon.
It is noteworthy that in accordance with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s decree “On additional measures to increase the flow of tourists to Azerbaijan,” signed in 2017, the Foreign Ministry jointly with the State Maritime Administration, the Caspian Shipping Company and Baku International Sea Trade Port were charged with holding talks with the Caspian-littoral countries to organize sea cruises in the Caspian Sea.
On December 28, 2017, the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company and Moscow River Shipping Company signed a memorandum of cooperation on cruise shipping in the Caspian region by using the “Peter the Great” passenger ship.
The memorandum envisages joint activities to study and develop optimal routes for cruise passenger vessels, such as ports of the Black Sea – inland waterways of Russia – Astrakhan – ports of the Caspian Sea; Moscow-Baku; AstrakhanMakhachkala-Baku; Baku-AnzaliNowshahr-Turkmenbashi-Aktau-Ast rakhan and other routes.